Eudemon Everlasting
by tayziconable
Summary: Nearly a year after Ciel's transition into a demon, he and Sebastian fulfill their first new contract together. However, their feelings alter slightly in their time together, in ways they never deemed possible, and on top of it, Sebastian discovers a very unorthodox method of tasting Ciel's soul. Follows and justifies where the anime left off! Sebastian/Ciel. *NOW COMPLETE*
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Alright! So this is the first Kuroshitsuji fanfiction I'm officially posting! As I said, it updates WEEKLY every Sunday night, and I aim to be incontrovertibly punctual xD I can remain firm in my claim because much of it is already written, and this _will _be finished! Though it will mention this later, the story begins about a year after Season 2 ends, and follows the EXACT canon of the anime _only_. Anyhow... I don't know why I started an author's note, because I have very little to say... but I hope you enjoy. Please review!**

**I've collected a variety of songs for this fanfiction and this ship, and so there will be a playlist per chapter! Abundant gratitude to the ever-lovely 3iluvsonic4ever27, who helped me organize the songs for the playlist! (Lord knows I'm too disorganized to do anything myself xD)**

**Chapter 1 Songs:**

_Blinding- Florence and the Machine_

_Lacrimosa- Kalafina_

_Si Deus Me Relinquit- Konishi Kayo, composed by Iwasaki_

**Warning: In later chapters, there will be explicit sexual content between demons involving an underage boy and an older man. However, considering that you knowingly clicked on an M-rated romance-genre Sebastian/Ciel fanfic, you really ought to expect this. xD**

**Disclaimer: Believe it or not, I didn't wake up this morning as Yana Toboso, so therefore I don't own Kuroshitsuji or its characters.**

* * *

**eudemon**, **eudaemon** [juːˈdiːmən]

_n_

(Myth & Legend / Classical Myth & Legend) a benevolent spirit or demon

[from Greek _eudaimōn,_ from eu- + _daimōn_ in-dwelling spirit; see demon]

Chapter 1:

For an instant, he had tasted it.

Trickling in a single stray bead of blood, it had dribbled over his alabaster lips. The flavor was muddled by the characteristic salt and rust and toil, but it was still there. The taste of Ciel's soul.

A flick of the tongue, and it was gone, the remnants all but inconspicuous in his mouth, but he recognized it. How could he not know it? He could constantly feel and smell it when Ciel was human, practically emanating from his form, enriching his thrumming blood like adrenaline and palpitating through his veins. A soul so pure, fine, and immeasurable in value, even a sample could tempt a demon into madness. He had watched it happen before, with Claude's pining, desperate effort, and it killed him. It was the unique, taunting soul he had coveted and protected for so long in a way that was nearly… eudemon. When it was locked away forever, he had no hope of coming into contact with it again. Yet here it was, without explanation…

"Sebastian!" the irritated bark of his young demon master stirred him from his thoughts. "Sebastian, what's wrong with you?"

The bitter tone stultified whatever sensation stilled him before, and as he left his stupor, familiarity returned his senses. He met a cerulean eye, which gave him a fierce yet none-too-impassioned gaze. _Ah, if any evidence remains of my master's soul, it is in his personality. _Though outwardly colder and cunning, he had not changed maliciously as a demon, and Sebastian could not decide if he was grateful for it. For, while Sebastian did find Ciel's company pleasant and agreeable, if in a masochistic way, his presence was a tease. A pesky mockery of the soul and freedom he had lost. Now, as they were shackled for eternity, he would have to endure it forever. In addition, he didn't know if the reason his master kept him around resulted from a sadistic impulse on a demon-spurred impetus, or if it was emotional attachment, from that latent soul. This wouldn't mean it was an affectionate bond on Ciel's side; no, just one of habit.

"Well?" the master blinked; his little muscles were tensed, as if prepared to strike, but it was a gentle, childish bluff; Sebastian knew Ciel would only ever hit him if he had done wrong. He was not pernicious. The dour expression on the older demon's countenance softened into a rare smile.

"Forgive me. You have blood on your face, my lord. It is slightly unbecoming," he purred liltingly.

He looked at the near-fatal wound on Ciel's forehead, not even bothering to survey the wreckage or debris that caused it, and knew that a year ago, it would've terrified him. However, now, the injury had already healed, leaving a dark wet crimson in its wake. A nostalgic twinge of protectiveness wrenched in his gut at his instinct, but he choked it down.

_The blood, _he thought. _It will cake and congeal if left to dry, and that flavor will go to waste… I just need to assure it was what I thought it was…_

Ciel's sour expression lightened a bit. Sebastian took the opportunity to remove his glove and tenderly wipe the red mess from his face, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Flustered at being babied, even when their relationship had grown so unusual, Ciel grunted in protest and swatted at the advance. He then swiveled on his heels and straightened his coat, insolent as ever, despite that his dark blue hair was matted with mahogany and plastered to his forehead. Sebastian almost wanted to chuckle at his lord's appearance, but let the earl do as he pleased. As soon as Ciel's back was turned, Sebastian stared at his blood-dabbed fingertips with awe; he couldn't remember the last time he had felt so invigorated over a discovery. Warily, he lifted them to his lips.

_This is it._ The first time he hadn't deceived himself. That rich, enthralling taste that could only belong to Ciel Phantomhive, who in turn belonged to him. But… how was it possible? Ciel "died", so his soul's tangibility should have been extinguished with him. It had never happened since the transformation, and it shouldn't be happening, but Ciel was no regular demon, after all. Neither was Sebastian.

Ciel turned again when he realized he was not being followed, and was startled to see Sebastian savoring his blood, ravaging his own fingers with an eager, meticulous tongue. Ciel crinkled his nose and sniffed, but opted not to comment on the oddity. He found it curious at first that Sebastian would remove his gloves to touch him. However, now the way the demon looked at him was making him apprehensive. Instead, all he said was, "Sebastian, we're leaving. Take me out of here. That's an order."

Withdrawing his fingers from his lips, careful not to salivate, he slipped his silken glove back on and placed his hand on his chest in a humble bow. "Yes, my lord." All of the young master's tedious orders. Still sore over the turn of events, each demand made him simmer with traitorous regret. However, simultaneously, he was thronged with a powerful devotion he couldn't explain. _Must just be the contract._ Yes, he and his master were bound irrevocably and irreversibly, by contract and complexity. Their fates were intertwined, woven to the point that they were impossible to disentangle. Though the smarting frustration of Sebastian's entitlement ebbed with time, he was uncertain if Ciel's soul would change that, and more confused over how he'd feel about it.

_No, I must consult someone about this, _Sebastian resolved with clarity. _Someone who understands not only what awaits beyond the grave, but the young master as well. _Sebastian was mildly appalled that he understood both himself, but couldn't figure it out.

Triggered by loyalty, Sebastian leaned over and bundled up the earl's lithe frame in his arms. He noted with interest how Ciel willingly wrapped his arms about his neck. What bothered Sebastian more, as he watched his master's milk-white cheek press softly into the lapels of his midnight jacket, was the fond attachment he still had to the boy, even though he had been wronged, trapped, and had nothing to gain.

_Better to get this soul issue resolved quickly, if he still owes me what I'm due._

With a hasty bound, the pair was gone, leaving remnants of disaster and carnage in their wake.

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**A/N: The first chapter is really more of a preface or prologue... so I uploaded the second chapter with it. :) Two chapters in one update, whoohoo! x)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's the second chapter! This is the only time I plan on uploading two chapters at once, but it's because this chapter gives you a better idea of what's going on... Lots of inner reflection in this chapter xD Yay character development!**

**Chapter 2 Songs:**

_My Last Breath- Evanescence_

_The Killing Moon- Echo and the Bunnymen_

_My Obsession- Cinema Bizarre_

**Disclaimer: I'm still not Yana, and it's still not mine.**

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Chapter 2:

"Sebastian Michaelis!" the man beamed darkly. "Of course, if that is the name you carry now."

"Undertaker," Sebastian offered a bow before the legendary retired reaper, an acquaintance of this past life. "Do not worry over introductions. I am Sebastian Michaelis forevermore."

The grey head seemed to perk at the news with piqued interest, but his smile never wavered and he didn't comment, patient as he was. "You know, I doubted I'd ever be seeing you here again, at least not in this form… I received the news that Ciel Phantomhive died." He sounded thoughtful as he prattled, "Actually, I was sort of disappointed he didn't come to me after he died… I have the perfect coffin for him, and I would've dolled him up so nicely…"

Sebastian silently regarded the shinigami's rant, until he ended with a forlorn sigh.

"Well, I doubt you came here to hear about that. What do you need?" he asked with measured inquiry.

"I'm afraid I must ask your advice on a matter."

"Well, you know the price for information," the Undertaker cackled. "Give me my laughter!"

"Alright, I do have some jokes I think you'll enjoy," Sebastian said with a suave, sly intonation. "But I believe that once you hear of the predicament I've fallen into, you'll be amused enough."

* * *

Hours before, he had helped his young master out of the bathtub and toweled him dry, beginning preparations for bed; though Ciel, almost at age fourteen, was more tentative to let himself be bathed, he took advantage of it anyways, with some degree of trust. Sebastian lifted the towel from the boy's body to pat his damp hair, scrutinizing the skin it exposed. The usual porcelain flesh was freshly pink and shining from soft scrubbing, and the heat of steam from the basin had flushed his cheeks, dusting them with a desert rose. Sebastian had never felt any particular kind of lust for another being, human, demon, or otherwise, regardless of gender; what reward could a body bear compared to fulfilling hunger? Even so, he couldn't help but appreciate a beautiful body that perfectly reflected the soul itself. Like looking through a history book.

All the supple frailty and slender-boned grace of aristocracy, wrapped in a flawless marble skin, thin as rice paper and unmarked by a single day spent frivolously in the sun. But it was not perfect. Yes, in all his unfurling youth, his flesh had been permanently marred by the disfiguring brand of the cult; the raised pink, puckered scar was evidence of naiveté lost. Yet another mark was etched onto his eye; the condemning mark of a demon's prey, despite the current irony. Both were testaments to suffering. Such symbols and markings carved out an entirely different tale.

Truly a thing of incomparable beauty; Sebastian did take an artisan admiration in it, the way a connoisseur tastefully commended wines. He could marvel in it, did it not upset him so much now. As he dabbed lightly at Ciel's cheeks, which were gilded with water droplets, the boy spoke up.

"Sebastian," he announced; his pupils had become slotted, and the irises glowed magenta. "I'm hungry."

"Do you mean you wish to taste a human soul again, my master?" Sebastian abruptly turned to retrieve a crisply folded nightshirt, listening to the contemplative silence. As he faced the naked boy once again, he briefly wondered if, under different circumstances, he would not have claimed the boy's body as well as his soul; it was an insignificant little musing, and while he had never before seduced a human for means that were not strategic, it entertained him. This amusement on its own was surprising. Unfortunately, reflecting on his eternal servitude, nothing should pass that didn't please the master. Sighing, he slipped the shirt onto his master's outstretched arms.

"Yes, I do," Ciel finally confirmed, his eyes focusing on Sebastian's gloved hand as it wandered up to check the mark where Ciel's deep abrasion had been earlier. Regardless, the hand froze when he calmly added, "But this time, I want something I can work up an appetite for. I want to make a contract."

"I'm not sure that will work, my lord," Sebastian said, his voice taking on a hesitant tone. "If you'd recall, with all due respect, you are still in contract with a demon yourself."

"We can at least try," Ciel offered. "And if that doesn't work, someone could easily sign a contract with you, and we could share it after you claim him or her."

The boredom and finality in his tone barely concealed a hint of desperation. Sebastian could infer that Ciel wouldn't willingly filch off of his kill; no, the earl was too proud and self-determined for something measly as leeching. The boy must have really been starving, or parched for quality. Sebastian grimly recounted their last meals; souls without bodies, wandering astray on their way to purgatory, corrupt with reeking, groveling atrocity. Easy to snatch and gobble up in the darkness with no one to see. The unpalatable equivalent of a bowl of watery porridge. It was wearing thin on Sebastian as well, considering the feast he had been anticipating before.

Ciel implored a challenge, urging Sebastian to show him something good, but he was hesitant to hunt together. Venturing into the company of other demons would be all but degrading; how would they react to see the ancient demon Sebastian Michaelis, known impressively by all, acting as a lap dog for the whims of a young boy? He would be mocked to no end for how he'd fallen from prestige, for being duped so easily. He was used to hearing baneful opinions of himself, but he wasn't sure his ego could stand _this _blunder. _And they say demons have no shame…_

In addition, if no one recognized his failure, someone was bound to see the pair traveling around together, inseparable, wearing the same pentagram insignia, and then claiming and devouring souls together… they would look like a mated pair. And he was _certain_ those assumptions would displease Ciel Phantomhive.

However, all he said was, "Very well, my lord. Tomorrow."

He needed to prepare his lord for bed as swiftly as possible; he had a visit to make.

* * *

"Ah, so that's how things are," the Undertaker mumbled after Sebastian's sufficient explanation. "That makes much more sense now. That lovely Grell fellow stopped by the other day, saying there was some massive chaos going on in the records department about the whereabouts of Ciel Phantomhive's soul. Didn't exist in the registry, but wasn't devoured by a demon either, so it didn't _cease_ to exist."

Sebastian, who visibly flinched at the mention of Grell, nodded once, expecting a gibe about his luck, but none followed.

"So… you came to me over the matter of his soul as well?"

Another nod. "Well, the possibility of his soul remaining within him is not unheard of… but not too likely... say, what were your original intentions for Ciel's soul?"

When the silver-haired man provided no more elaboration, Sebastian frowned. "I feel as though my intentions were painfully clear," he said impatiently.

"I'm asking if you planned on destroying it, tearing it apart bit by bit to devour it, or if you planned to store it within yourself, savoring it but keeping it whole." The man's smile faltered, and he was now eerily stoic. "The infamous sheath, Hannah Annafellows, bore a strange obsession with two souls, as I'm certain you know… it struck me as similar to the unnatural obsession you've always held for Ciel's soul. That being said, Hannah loved the boys, and, as I daresay you already know, it is suspected she perished. It's been assumed she suffered her demise during the collapse of the Island of Death, sanctuary to demons."

"Are you asking if I intended to carry his soul with me, in the unorthodox way the sheath does?" Sebastian's eyes narrowed to furious crimson slits as Hannah's alias left his lips. She was not the party at fault, but she was the reason anyone had been involved in this debacle. He blatantly ignored the reaper's inadvertent love accusation, silly as it was.

"Yes, in a way… I do have reasons for relating the situations. I remember before that you declared that profound specimens like Ciel only come every so many thousand years, and that they are the sole reason that eternal life as a demon is tolerable; you claimed he gave you the vigor to live. Bold words for a mere human. Were a demon to feel special attachments or affections for aforementioned soul, it is likely that he would choose to keep it after consumption, even without relishing in destroying it. Doing so means nothing more than keeping the soul by one's side for eternity, as a possession. If you wanted that, I think you already have it."

"That's not the problem," Sebastian glowered, pinching the bridge of his nose. His detached façade was deteriorating in the haste of his frustration; he knew he shouldn't have asked an acquaintance so close to Ciel, and now he was involved in this tangent. Or… _was _that the problem, and he was only frustrated that he couldn't consume the soul physically?

"Give me an answer, and I'll give one back to you, demon," the Undertaker beamed, satisfied with his riddle, as a teasing aura of lunacy lent itself to him. "Ciel is dead, so it's the least you can do to satisfy my curiosity… if given the chance, would you really have destroyed it?"

"Of course I—" the raven-haired demon's breathing hitched. When he had been under the earl's human company, he was aware that his malicious nature, characteristic of demons, had depleted and dulled. However, he had blamed it on being a witness and victim to Ciel's emotions, some of which he felt telepathically. Yes, that was culpable. However, he had never guessed how far he had fallen. For now, as he looked back to that fateful night, the first time he brought Ciel to the Island of Death, recalling the mutual, purposeful acceptance each of them had, he found himself dwelling on a strange sadness. It was not foreboding dread of what he knew would happen afterwards with the spider demon, and it was not the regret of the havoc he would wreak. The sadness didn't belong to Ciel either, sitting so dignified and trusting in the palm of Sebastian's hand. No, the solemn sadness was his own, and suddenly, Sebastian wasn't so certain anymore.

* * *

_Where has he gone to? _Ciel thought drowsily, idly fingering the sheets. He was jostled into consciousness mere hours into his slumber, but this didn't embitter him in the slightest; though he enjoyed it out of habit, demons didn't need sleep, and he felt more inclined to be walking about during the night anyways. Though, it seemed like it was mostly always night where Sebastian seemed to be taking him. Not that he thought much of it.

Of course Ciel would not usually question his butler's whereabouts; it was nothing short of proper that Sebastian wouldn't stay in his bedroom, and it was expected that he would manage to find some other chambers to spend the night in, wherever they stayed. Regularly, he wouldn't give a damn about where his butler went. However, he could simply sense that Sebastian was nowhere in the same manor; it was just something he knew, upon instinctual reflex. Though he hated to admit it, and he was aware no true endangerment would come to him (he was both immortal and protected by another immortal), he felt uneasy without his demon butler by his side, in a way that almost clingy. He tried fervently to convince himself that he was just jittery from being in new, potentially dangerous territory, but it was to no avail. In actuality, he also had a childish yearning for the room he had slept in nearly every night of his life, and Sebastian was a constant of that. Though by no means had Ciel Phantomhive ever led a sheltered life, he was growing reproachfully uncomfortable.

Groaning, he tossed over in the sheets, burrowing his cheek in the musty pillow, and watched as a cloud of dust drifted like powdered sugar and caught, glittering, in a beam of iridescent moonlight. The unfiltered, milky light shrouded Ciel's nocturnal world, sapping out the hues of daylight and soaking everything in blackish-blue and silver; hardly surreal for a creature of the night.

_ Everyone I care about dies. Everyone who cared about me thinks I'm dead. It's best this way._ Though he wavered, he stayed firm in his own self-assured conviction. Even as friends, they were pawns, and he wouldn't be stirred over that. He had won his game, so they would not be missed.

Sebastian was all he had left now, and he didn't need much more. Not for the first time, Ciel pondered why he did not, out of graciousness, at least grant Sebastian some reprieve from his work, though he could never be dismissed entirely. He was capable, but wouldn't bring himself to do it. A part of it, surely, was that Sebastian was a memoir of his past life. However, he was the quintessence of this life too, and more paramount in the latter, so that wasn't it. Ciel desired no recollections of his past, or so he prided himself; that's precisely why he "died". If he was forced to live on, he decided that whatever inhospitable, remote areas he and Sebastian would travel to, whatever sweltering, blistering depths of hell they were due to suffer someday, it was better. He preferred it over the comfort and familiarity, the luxury and pampering, of his prior existence; that in itself was a farce. Though these were the fancies he was accustomed to, he needed nothing to remind him of the silent anguish he faced in that prim charade, struggling in vain to complete a revenge that had engulfed his mind. He had at long last won— and this was what he had earned.

The easiest excuse for harboring Sebastian, while pathetic, was that he didn't want to be alone. He knew how petty and fussy the excuse was, but it hardly seemed so when weighed with what he_ knew _the reason really was. Which of the two was truly weaker?

Contrary to loneliness itself, he had formed a different bond with his demon, one not specified by the boundaries of the contract. But what choice did he have? He was a goner from the start. Provide a young, bereft boy with a single unfaltering companion, the closest excuse he could ever have for a best friend, his sole confidant, the only being in existence that he could trust, even when all others betrayed him. Certainly, Sebastian had been sworn under order and oath not to betray him, but there were always loopholes he purposefully ignored, and his words themselves were free of impurity. Even if the bodies piled at Ciel's feet, he would stay by his side and help him, even if Ciel himself fell; yes, that was what he had told him. Sebastian had procured Ciel's revenge, his one desire, and offered it to him on a silver platter, with that debonair flourish that he was never without. In turn, Ciel promised to give him all that he was and ever would be. When phrased like that, who could avoid caring?

This was a fragment of Ciel's discontent with their current arrangements; an obligation, no, a debt unpaid. It wasn't honorable, to say the least, but it wasn't the life he wanted. He had been ready to die, his purpose spent, with nothing left to live for; and now, because of Sebastian's incompetence, he had exchanged humanity to become the lowest of all monstrosities. After he was prepared to submit himself to the demon, to succumb and let him feast on what he was entitled to, life itself was… disappointing. He wondered if Sebastian could tell he felt this way. After a brief lifetime of strife and conniving, he _wanted_ to retire, especially if it was under the gentle hands of Sebastian Michaelis, and if it would please him. Oh, he could act ostentatiously smug at Sebastian's expense, and at first he was. His trusted butler had lied to him, and he could only marvel at karma's glorious work. But he couldn't revel in Sebastian's misery forever.

_Quit being so damn ungrateful. You won your game, and to top it off, you're immortal now. You get your bloody cake and you get to eat it, too. _Though demons were disdain-worthy creatures, they were infinitely powerful. But it felt unnatural. He could detect a mirrored dejection around his butler when he had become a demon, an aura he disliked. Though he used to attempt to irk his demon for amusement's sake, and he partially deserved it now, that easygoing atmosphere was now harsher somehow. And he wasn't sure what he'd do if his butler held honest contempt for him.

_I said it myself before, even so blatant as to say it aloud. I exist for no purpose but to be devoured by Sebastian. I am his. _He was loathsome at his own silent confession, but found it regrettably true. He reflected on all the times the crow demon had faithfully tended to him, preening and molding and cultivating his soul for esteemed perfection, but he thought over it in a different way. _Sebastian is a part of me. He made me who I am today, did he not?_

Nevertheless, he wouldn't let his mind wade and sputter through senseless thoughts now. Especially anything similar to guilt, or something stronger that would impress forgiveness on the demon. Not— dare he say it— affection. _I'm not Alois,_ he seethed quietly. _I've no time for petty trifles such as love. _No, he needed to find his butler, if the demon wasn't residing in the depths of this dilapidated mansion. Their current location was some renowned monument to previous decades, opulent decadence grown dingy with squalor.

No, he needed to ascertain Sebastian came back, at least in order to assume that he would be served his regular cup of New Moon Drop in the morning.

Besides, he had something important to ask him.

Without further ado, he widened his right eye and called out his butler's name.

* * *

Mid-conversation, the ebony-haired butler gave a miniscule twitch and wince, before emitting a soft sigh.

"I do apologize. It seems my master is calling for me," Sebastian stood swiftly, with remarkable grace, and turned to leave; shockingly, his voice held no trace of bitterness. "…Though, if I may ask, I would like some advice before I leave."

"Yes, why leave without the knowledge you came here for?" the silver shinigami cackled slyly. "You were partially correct in your assumptions.

"Ciel Phantomhive's soul still lays semi-dormant within him, sort of like… incubation," he guffawed at his own musing before continuing, "In some moments of personal passion, or any instance that calls on human emotion and sensibility, his soul will be enlivened, and could… leak out of him physically, for lack of a better terminology. You could taste it in his blood because of his human fear in the moment.

"But don't be fooled," he added, just as Sebastian was prepped to exit. "This doesn't change anything."

Sebastian, however, was so intrigued that even the last portion conveyed did not upset him. He could visualize Ciel's proud, independent, bitter-tempered soul boldly resisting inside of him, rioting to be released in fits of passion, even though it was in such a precarious, helpless position. This alone fanned the embers of his admiration for his master, and whet his appetite in more ways than one. With brisk purpose, he skulked stealthily out the door and into the night.

* * *

Three evenly-spaced knocks penetrated the silence that blanketed Ciel's room, and the boy lifted himself lethargically in the bed. Impressive; regardless of where he had ventured, he was already at Ciel's side within moments of his summoning. With a smooth gait, he treaded past the creaking door, offering a bow of apology.

"I apologize for being late, my lord," he admitted, already fully aware Ciel would try to chide him on that. "You called?"

"And Sebastian, after a prolongéd absence, enters the stage from the left," Ciel drawled in a theatre voice.

"My, you speak as if we're players on a stage, my lord," Sebastian chuckled lightly, though he was befuddled by Ciel's words.

"Isn't it only natural to speak of players when one feels as though he's being played?" Ciel retorted cautiously. He wasn't actually bothered by his demon exiting to attend to his own business during the night, nor did it inconvenience him in unconsciousness. He was more perturbed by how nervous he was without the other demon around, and perplexed by the strange wave of relief that washed over him when he saw him again. He sought to take out these feelings on their source.

"I could not catch the meaning of your words, young master," Sebastian's rejoinder arrived with a daringly facetious smile. "You sound as if you actually believe the pawns could best the chess player himself."

Although he was usually much entertained by their playful banter, paired cleverly both in sharp wit and matching intellect, Ciel cut to the chase with a sigh. "Where were you?"

"I was out attending personal matters, my young master. Would you recommend I ask permission of leave next time?"

"No," Ciel grumbled, hardly satisfied. "I was sort of expecting you would say that."

Disgruntled, the lanky boy collapsed onto the covers once more, still disturbingly at ease in his butler's presence. Sebastian lifted a dark brow elegantly. However, he did not press his master over why he was summoned; Ciel would tell him when he was ready. He was simply relieved knowing the matter couldn't be too serious; as a demon, Ciel was no longer susceptible to the things he had been as a human.

After a couple of moments, it appeared the earl of Phantomhive was situated, and Sebastian prepared to leave once more; yet, he was stopped by another brusque articulation of his name. When nothing followed, he smirked a little on impulse, inquiring, "Would the young master like me to stay with him until he falls asleep?"

He broached the memory with no small amount of amusement, recalling his master's youthful requests in a way that was similar to mockery.

Yet the mumbled reply he received startled him; Ciel would not be content with just this, knowing that his butler could abandon him again when he drifted from wakefulness. _When did I become so damn needy? _Ignoring his thoughts, he regally commanded, "Sit down. You are not to leave this bed until I awake in the morning." A coy flush rose to darken his cheeks when he saw his butler's smile. He hurriedly added, to maintain some transient authority, "This is an order."

"Yes, my lord," he responded, attempting to slip back into an expression of nonchalance. He strode towards the bed and sat obediently on the side opposite to Ciel Phantomhive, dragged incessantly along by the devotion he was so puzzled by.

Hesitantly, his steadfast thoughts lingered on his earlier conversation; perhaps it was serendipitous that his master called for him at that moment, because the conversation was drifting into dangerous territory. He recalled the last snippets that passed between them before they were interrupted by Ciel's beckoning.

_Do you love Ciel?_

The accusation was so straightforward, but Sebastian had no hesitation. _Of course I do. _He paused. _However, I suggest you don't misconstrue a word I say. I know you must understand mortals better than anyone, reaper. But I am a demon, and you cannot compare this feeling to that romanticized idea of human love. I am incapable. I love him only in the way a demon can, and therefore, I can only provide him with that much. There is no depth, lest it be in possession and yearning to possess, and I don't have any benevolent will for the boy._

_ You talk as if love does not exist amongst demons, too. _The Undertaker chuckled, omniscient as ever. _You put on a fantastic show, Sebastian Michaelis, but I know how quick you are to learn, and how you observe. Love is not confined to humanity. And I know that if Hannah Annafellows taught you anything, in her time with the Trancy boy, it was just that._

Never before had the aloof demon ever been flustered. No, he didn't like it in the least. It had always been obvious to himself that he adored Ciel, but that was the soul for the taking, not the boy itself. However, he was really beginning to question if the two were actually mutually exclusive. The idea in itself was preposterous. A degraded creature such as a demon could only stoop lower by involving itself in desperate, fleeting nuances such as love, even among its own species.

Meanwhile Ciel, prostrate on his back, was mildly infuriated, and ripe with disdain.

He was irked by his butler's perfect appearance, his flawless performance, his unwavering loyalty. So stubbornly wonderful, even if it was obvious Sebastian was unhappy with it. Frustrated, he rolled onto his spine and curled inwards, coldly displaying the curve of his spine to his butler. Sebastian, as always, didn't look particularly off-put or bemused by these tantrum-like antics, so after a moment, Ciel cleared his throat.

"Sebastian."

The name was murmured so delicately that it was nearly a whisper, so quiet that it could have been drowned out by the beating of a butterfly's wings. But Sebastian caught it with a lupine grin. With his newfound yet confusing hope, being around his master in this fragile state had its own rewards. From the tone, Sebastian could interpret that even his sated detest (the most deliciously promising type of hate) had quelled in his gut, and he was indiscreetly vulnerable.

"What is it, young master?"

"Sebastian… Why do you protect me?"

Sebastian was caught off guard, and Ciel continued before he could formulate a response.

"I know I made you swear under orders not to hurt or betray me, so you can't kill me with your own hands. But I'm immortal now, and you have nothing at all to achieve by preserving my life, so I know you can't be guarding me for your own benefit; I also know that it's not something you would do out of habit. And I was involved in tricking you into this…" the blue-eyed boy trailed off, before chuckling, "But you did kill me once, didn't you?"

The butler vaguely recalled his master's transformation; the instant those bloodcurdling red eyes opened, he had plunged his fist through the boy's chest and watched it burst, spilling scarlet into the acrid sea water. Because he had claimed it was merely to check if Ciel was a demon, it did not spoil anything in the contract, and because Ciel had lived, he didn't seem particularly upset by it. Sebastian could tell from the sardonic laughter, and the smile that accompanied it; not a genuine grin, but a smirk that was slightly reminiscent of that coquettish Alois boy.

Sebastian smiled lightly too, and listened as Ciel's laughter tapered off. He firmly finished, "If I died, you would be free. So if others make attempts at my life, what's the point in saving me?"

Carefully, the taller demon rested the side of his knee on the bed, making sure he would not dip the mattress with the additional weight, and turned a bit. He knew the impropriety was very un-butler-like, but he wanted to stare at his young master more comfortably. The demon boy's body was still clenched tightly, shoulders tense from anticipation, as if he was calculating the demon's reply in strategy. And he stared and stared at the soul that had won his affections and escaped him, at the boy who kindled his obsessions. He sighed.

"Trust me, master. Even if you cease to exist… I will never be free."

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**A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! If so, leave a review to prove it! :D (Seriously, I need the ego boost Dx) Anyhow, this will update next Sunday night, though I must digress, next chapter is when the warning from earlier comes into play!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys! First update on Sunday night, as promised! I just want to take a moment to thank everyone who followed or favorited the story so far, and to express my gratitude to Alyssa James, Kitten Rebel, CatatonicVanity, promocat, and waffleirons for their reviews, some of which earnestly meant a lot to me. I don't necessarily write to please others, but it humbles me to no end hearing positive opinions of my work. It makes me extensively happy, and I'd love to get more reviews! This chapter is a bit short and unimpressive, but that will be compensated for in the following chapter!**

_Chapter 3 Songs:_

_Taking Over Me- Evanescence_

_Heavy In Your Arms- Florence and the Machine_

**(You have no idea how difficult it was to find fitting songs for this chapter. x) As always, 3iluvsonic4ever27 was a tremendous help!)**

**Disclaimer: I waited an entire week to become Yana Toboso just so I could say that this was mine, and it just didn't work...**

**Warning: Does fellatio count as a plot device?**

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Chapter 3:

Sebastian Michaelis was in one hell of a predicament.

_I'm sure my master didn't consider this outcome when he delivered the orders, _Sebastian smirked.

Up until this point, through the remainder of the night, Sebastian had sat stiff and petrified on the pressed sheets, without a fidget for hours on end. It was not uncomfortable, but it seemed terribly inefficient, and he was sure that the young lord would be cranky upon waking and realizing that his butler had been unable to prepare tea or breakfast from his post. Things would expedite much more swiftly once Ciel outgrew his human habits, such as sleeping and eating regularly. However, he strongly doubted Ciel would ever outgrow his hankering for sweets.

The past several hours were uneventful, but now Sebastian found himself longing for the anticlimactic silence from before. For the past however-so-many minutes, the silence was regularly punctuated with breathy whimpers, and they became more frequent as time progressed. At first, hearing the whining and panting, wondering if his immortal master somehow had an ailment; but he knew the cause of this "distress" as soon as he turned to look at the earl. The breathless, disheveled appearance and red tint to his cheeks could suggest a fever, but a small tent protruding in the covers told him otherwise. Ciel must have been having a wet dream. Sebastian couldn't help but snicker, delighted at the turn of events. If anything, it would be satisfying to see the master's mortification upon waking, even if he would have to clean up the mess himself; the young boy undoubtedly deserved some degradation for his snarky behavior of late. Certainly, Ciel had been desensitized since the transformation; he hardly showed any signs of compassion or empathy, but then again, Ciel hadn't had much of that to begin with. He doubted it had stolen his prudish modesty.

Regardless, as Ciel's dreaming wore on, Sebastian himself grew a bit uncomfortable. He suddenly realized that, in all his time caring for the Phantomhive boy, it didn't seem that he had ever peaked in puberty; it was obvious he had never had a growth spurt in his life. Though he was now a demon, his first and most natural form was the human body, and his was still aging; Sebastian wasn't sure when things would settle, but Ciel was an unconventional demon. Before, Sebastian had never witnessed any evidence of Ciel's adolescence, or at least, he hadn't been in his presence when the proof presented itself. And if it had shown itself, he would have had to be blind to let it elude him. There was no way he could mistake it now.

Humans were lecherous, wanton creatures, in a way he had experienced and enjoyed, but had never expressly understood. Ciel had never been lustful in that sense, as he had been young, even though he was precocious enough to understand more than he let on; and now he was a demon. This being said, Sebastian couldn't explain the reaction he was having to the boy. Somehow, in the duration of his thinking and evaluating, the room had become absolutely permeated in Ciel's scent. His hormones clogged the atmosphere, drifting in a heavy wreath, enticing the butler with a variety of smells he was subtly accustomed to. A clean, heady lavender odor that was always on the boy, an unfamiliar yet vivacious musk, and above all, his soul, rich with an attractive vulnerability. The elder demon was beside himself with confusion, but he couldn't resist being tantalized and drawn in. Swiftly shaking his head, he tried to clear his thoughts, shoveling the blame on his hunger. He had played the incubus out of hunger before. That must be all.

Previously, though it had never happened before, if he had any overwhelming, devouring urges, he could exit the room promptly. But nothing of this caliber had ever affected him, and he was subject to this unusual torture by Ciel's words. Beginning to feel a bit uneasy, he glanced towards the windows, nearly opaque with dust, but his ill misfortune was affirmed with one peek. The horizon had been faintly illuminated in a pale canary shade, but the sun did not hint at rising in the dusky sky. It would not be morning for some time now. He couldn't count on his master to wake up before the sun was in the sky, and he wouldn't dare wake the pretentious boy now in his current position; his master needed to wake up on his own anyways. Feeling less patient now for his master's release, he frowned, but still found himself unable to tear his gaze away.

Disappointed with his own behavior, Sebastian attempted to convince himself he wasn't getting a… different form of entertainment out of this. _It would be very uncouth of a butler with any of the dignified criteria I maintain to watch his master in such a way... I may just be a bed sheet enthusiast. _He winced at his own petty excuse, but his alizarin crimson eyes glinted when he found a way to manipulate things. _Yes, and any bed sheet enthusiast in his right mind would want to take a closer look at this fabric._ It was true that the royal violet fabric was lovely; pleasantly light for a comforter despite its golden embroidery, streamlined exclusively to the mattress, and adorned with regal frills; deterioration had entailed pockets of dust among each ruffle, but time had hardly lifted the finger of decay. Even so, the fabric in his hands wasn't really what he paid attention to. No, what he really noticed was the muffled groan of bliss his master uttered at the friction, and how obvious the boy's arousal was with little to restrict it besides his nightshirt. Sebastian feigned indifference as he folded and tucked the blanket neatly above Ciel's knees, revealing his slender, creamy thighs. Ciel Phantomhive shuddered at the exposure to the cold draft, but didn't stir otherwise; his butler swallowed thickly and let out a trembling breath, chest tightening. While he was still puzzled, he could not remember ever desiring something sexually at this strength, and the boy's innocence lay before him, waiting to be taken advantage of.

Yet he could not lay a gloved finger on Ciel if it was against the earl's will, despite having the heart of a jackal.

He had been thinking heavily upon the Undertaker's words all night, with nothing else to do. And to his dismay, he found the reaper may be more interceptive than he let on.

For a period of time following the night that Claude robbed him of Ciel's soul, after he had destroyed the Island of Death in his anger, he had been carting the boy's cadaver with him wherever he went. During this time, he weighed the option of eating Ciel's soul, and found himself remarkably… alone. True, the couple of years he had spent under the boy's condescending control were less than a fraction of the eternal life he lived before. However, Ciel was special. He was perfect, soul and mind, and Sebastian would easily trade or risk his immortality to possess him, and in the past, he had. Yet, while lingering on the possibility, he realized that, while the experience would be mind-numbingly riveting, it was also fleeting. What would he do once Ciel was gone? Wander the sparse earth in desolation again, only to scrape up the measly remains of whatever souls he managed to harvest? It would never be the same, for there were none like him. Ciel was special.

So he was elated when he deemed the value of the reaper's words, though equally curious and ready to berate himself. If it was true, he would have Ciel forever by his side, and still be able to savor his soul in a way. It was a bit too good to be true, and sent him into a tumult.

_Fits of passion, huh?_

He tenderly reached over to caress the fine knob of an elegantly curved collarbone; the first buttons on his nightshirt had slipped through, and his clavicle jutted softly from behind the hem. The boy shivered delicately, so unused and sensitive to the contact of others, and arched into the demon's taunting touch. Ciel's feverish aroma had swelled drastically, fastening Sebastian to him by instinct. He felt his mouth go dry when Ciel mumbled something incoherent that resembled his name. Anxious, his eyes flickered up, worried his groggy master had awakened; he was more shocked to discover that Ciel was still asleep, murmuring his name unconsciously. He smirked in response. _How devilishly irresistible._

His restraint splintered then. In that moment, Sebastian Michaelis singlehandedly decided for himself that the sole function of a Phantomhive butler was to _please _his master, whatever means necessary.

Turning onto the bed without a single creak, he lowered himself between the earl's thighs and tugged off his gloves with his teeth, letting them flutter to the ground like white doves. Inhaling with a hitch, he leaned towards the obstinately-tented nightshirt, nudging it slightly with his lip and watching it twitch in anticipation; the fabric at the tip appeared to be damp, moistened by beading pre-climax fluids. His fingertips trailed and swirled over the delicious expanse of the boy's tensed thighs, dancing in antsy patterns. He was lured by the squirming of the adored boy beneath him, magnetized in an animalistic way; never before had he been able to touch his young master in such a way, and it was exhilarating.

_I must be swift, before he awakes._

The Earl of Phantomhive grunted as his shirt was peeled up to his stomach, his erection bobbing slightly. After a moment of simply staring at the rosy tip, he lapped at the fluid pearling in the slit; his eyes darted upwards to assure that Ciel was asleep, but he never stopped his ministrations. Ciel had begun open-mouthed panting, and Sebastian could have snickered at his responsiveness. When he so much as slicked the shaft with his tongue, his master's thighs jerked closed at the foreign contact. Softly smoothing his hands over the tender skin, the butler ran his hands from the boy's groin down his legs, gently spreading them apart again; yet he kept a firm vice on them afterwards, holding him in place possessively. Oh, how he wished he could savor this, relish in each moment. As he aggressively, vigorously mouthed the sides of the boy's length, barely grazing it with his teeth, the boy's eyelids fluttered. _I must be faster then. I'm running out of time. _He couldn't say it didn't thrill him a bit.

Extending his abnormally long tongue, he wrapped it about the length, pleased when he felt it pulsate under his intimate touch. A loud guttural moan pierced the air, much to Sebastian's approval. He moved to completely engulf Ciel's erection, simultaneously giving a long, harsh pull with his tongue, and nearly instantly felt Ciel writhing and thrashing, crying out softly. The boy's head was tossed back in rapture, his grey-blue hair wet with the sheen of perspiration that began to coat his entire body. The near painful intensity of it had the boy sweltering and quivering. Sebastian himself shook slightly, in giddy predilection, lending his inhuman speed to one of the rawest human pleasures.

Hushed groaning and hissing quickly transgressed into loud vocalizations, and the convulsing muscles clenched tighter. The older demon's glossy hair pooled onto Ciel's pallid stomach, strands sticky with the sweat trickling on that gasping body. _Soon._

Vicariously, as he swallowed and sucked, Sebastian gathered some of Ciel's sensation as well. His muscles tightening, preparing himself for climax. Even in his slumbering state, his body was a live wire, and his skin seemed to sting everywhere Sebastian touched, sizzling with electric energy. The butler could feel the scalding, throbbing heat that burned incessantly in Ciel's own abdomen and groin, and the boy's desperation was his own.

A few seconds later, his master's body heaved with a shudder, the inferno erupting and pulsing through him. As the boy was wracked with waves of sheer intensity, Sebastian found divinity of his own. He could taste it, pulsing and spurting into his mouth. The succulent, delectable essence of Ciel Phantomhive. It didn't take long for the boy's muscles to stop rioting, but Sebastian was still riveted with bliss. It wasn't only that he had felt, as if it was concrete, that he had consumed part of Ciel's soul, albeit that it was a mirage and the soul itself everlasting. No, there was some other emotion present, but he couldn't place this happiness. On top of it all, he now found himself in a haze, as if Ciel had intoxicated him until he was drunk on desire.

He gave a final lick to the softening penis, just to ensure he hadn't missed any of the boy's semen (thank goodness the nightshirt hadn't been soiled), and saw the demon boy's legs quake slightly. A profound protectiveness swelled within Sebastian, even more amplified than usual. That's right. Ciel Phantomhive belonged to him. Physical pleasure alone was transient. It was one thing to take and destroy the perfect soul, and another entirely to be granted the privilege of tasting the soul and having the person by one's side for eternity afterwards. And, if it meant he would be able to stay diligent beside the one he was so fascinated with, Sebastian would be more than happy to submit himself to Ciel in any way, despite the humiliation he was destined to face. Yes, that's what he was: happy. In a way that couldn't be conjured by eating souls.

Regardless, said happiness was short-lived. The demon suddenly realized that it was far too quiet. In fact, it had been silent ever since the earl's orgasm moments before. As if someone had been holding his breath.

Slowly, Sebastian Michaelis lifted his head, only to see his master fully awake, gawking at him in utter horror.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey there, lovelies~ Another Snazzy Sunday update, from yours truly! I would just like to thank CatatonicVanity, phoeyay, emberstar55, Thegraybluekitten, promocat, and polka dot for their reviews! I honestly get so overjoyed and flustered just from hearing your positive feedback! Please review, even if it's with criticism, just so I can know how you guys feel about where the story's going and how you like it so far! Or, if reviewing isn't your thing, just favoriting the story is praise enough ^-^ Okay, I'll stop being a little shit now. xD**

**On another note, I've been working on several other fanfictions for Kuroshitsuji, and although they aren't up yet, I'd be honored if you would check them out when the time comes!**

_Chapter 4 Songs:_

_Bones- MSMR_

_Bloodstream- Stateless_

_Running Up That Hill- Placebo_

_Prelude 12/21- AFI_

**Disclaimer: Is a disclaimer still necessary at this point? If I owned the show, as I'm sure many of you deduced from the previous chapter, there would certainly be more blowjobs. Alright, on with the story!**

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Chapter 4:

Never before had Sebastian seen his master's expression switch from distraught to fuming so quickly. All the while his face was vibrantly flushed, not from exertion so much as embarrassment and, most of all, violation.

"…Get out…" Ciel choked quietly, blowing out a shaky breath. Though his confusion was evident, he had been awake long enough to see the indecent act. The elder demon blinked calmly, and then involuntarily flicked out his tongue to sweep across the corner of his mouth. The thoughtless gesture was insignificant to the butler, but it deeply offended the boy, who recalled his own dream in addition to his servant's vulgarity. He snapped.

"Get out!" he screeched louder. "Get off of me, you filthy demon!"

He held an acrimonious amount of spite in his tone as he spat the barrage of insults, even though he knew he was a demon himself. His arm shot out in an arc, and an earsplitting crack splintered the stagnant air as his hand made contact. Sebastian obediently permitted his master to smack and strike him over and over. As he was now embodied with the strength of a demon, Ciel's hits could easily kill a mortal, but the swatting was still merely child's play to Sebastian. Bolts of pain pounded through his head as he was jarred, the blood battering the insides of his skull, but it was all very tolerable. He had endured much worse for his master, after all.

The agitated boy, tugging the fabric of his shirt down to cover himself, leapt from the bed. However, as he was still weak at the knees, his body buckled the instant his feet hit the ground. Eyes widening, Sebastian was beside his master in less than an instant to catch him. _Still about as clumsy as a human,_ Sebastian mused, though he still felt a bit disoriented from the nauseating pain of being knocked about. He felt Ciel's body tremble in his arms, though from rage or shame, he couldn't tell.

In actuality, Ciel didn't know what to think. While he couldn't stand how importune Sebastian had been, to _dare _touch his own master in that way, he was more ashamed that Sebastian had seen him like that, and mortified about his own dreams. They were never too vivid, due to his limited extent of knowledge, but it was obvious what was occurring. And this was not the first time it had happened.

Although he would never finish during the course of the dream, he would occasionally delude about his butler more than he cared to admit, and he had awoken to erections before. If these were not upsetting enough, he was further distressed by the fact that, though he did understand the basic mechanics of sex, he was not quite sure how to get rid of them, and waited them out regularly. Even now, despite how great it had felt, he sort of doubted sticking it in his butler's mouth was the correct way to go about solving the problem. And it _had _felt great, extensively so. Because of this, he felt all the more pathetic, and the blood boiled in his cheeks.

He could claim to be infuriated and disgusted by his servant's audacity, but at the same time, lest the demon follow his command to "get out"… he couldn't stand the idea of Sebastian leaving him in this state, either.

Sebastian reflexively tightened his grip on his struggling, unkempt master, feeling the boy's temper flare. _Oh, I do love when he burns so hatefully, _Sebastian thought smugly. In an act of reassurance, he placed the hand that bore the symbol of their contract over Ciel's eye, and felt his movements halt immediately. Regularly, Ciel would not be comforted easily as the prey of most demons, witting as he was. However, as a demon he was now affected differently by the implicit nature of the gesture, and understood in an intricate way.

Stiff muscles uncoiling, he laid limp in the arms of the crimson-eyed demon, but mostly from exhaustion and puzzlement; it _certainly _wasn't by his own will, he told himself.

_Sebastian lost my soul, and I am no longer under his spell… So how does he still mesmerize me?_ He recognized that, while he would never be so lowly as to pledge his worship to a demon the way Alois had, in a strange way, he unwillingly had. Sebastian was his tourniquet, revenge his salvation. He was in Sebastian's deliverance forevermore.

The boy felt the weight of Sebastian's bare hand leave his eye, though it brushed some blue-grey strands of hair from his face on its way off, and Sebastian continued to cradle him like some treasure. All was not forgiven, Sebastian deduced from the baleful glare he received, but the boy made no move to shrug out of his grasp. After a moment of terse silence, he began to speak.

"You were insubordinate, Sebastian," Ciel muttered quietly, blushing despite his cold tone. "I believe I told you to get out."

With a weary thump, Ciel's head flopped defeatedly again st Sebastian's chest, at eye level with his throat and chin. He heard the low, reverberating rumble of a laugh begin in the depths of his butler's chest.

"With all due respect, my lord, you never ordered me to leave. You could have ordered it, but I'm rather glad you didn't. I must acquiesce to all commands, young master, but not to requests."

Ciel clicked his tongue and wrinkled his nose. "And I suppose if I don't keep you on a tight leash, you'll go off doing whatever you please?"

The accusatory tone was not lost on the other demon. "With the utmost _pleasure, _my lord."

The boy's heterochromic eyes narrowed sharply, but he didn't retort, instead choosing to watch the edge of Sebastian's pale neck behind his trim collar, rising and falling with breath he didn't need; he still couldn't bring himself to lift his head and make eye contact. He was content to stare at him from this angle. It was a wonder to him how the porcelain column of his neck, the most vulnerable target of the body, could be simultaneously strong and slender, and how well it fitted his narrowly carved jaw. So perfect it was nearly revolting; but his demon was always perfect, wasn't he? Ciel suddenly noticed that, were he to lift his head, his lips would be a hair's breadth from Sebastian's neck; near enough to brush them over the sinews of his throat, to feel the blood rushing through his jugular, buzzing alive beneath his skin. And, as disgraceful as he knew it probably was, he wanted to see more of his butler; to expose just one more inch of that alabaster skin that was always covered, in an invulnerable way that almost seemed to give him a fortified upper hand. He wasn't quite sure what he wanted to do, just that he wanted to _touch _him. Gently, he angled his head upwards, bumping his nose against the base of his neck. What would the demon do? It would be no fun to order Sebastian to sit still or comply, but the supreme amount of power he held over the supernatural creature, almighty and impossible to tame, was so enjoyable on its own…

"Young master?" Sebastian inquired, surprised when he felt the phantom of uneven breathing drift over his neck and jaw. He tilted his head downwards abruptly, to affirm that Ciel was alright, and in the speed of his actions, their faces barely brushed against one another's.

The young earl was completely taken aback by the closeness of Sebastian, not even registering the situation. For an instant, with Sebastian leaning so dangerously near, his breath ghosting over Ciel's lips like the brush of feather tips, a terrible thrill ran through the boy's entire body. He had a sense of déjà vu, remembering the night Sebastian had nearly taken his soul. That time, his eyelids had drooped languidly shut, waiting for Sebastian's mouth to claim his own; or at least, he had assumed that was why Sebastian leaned in that way. Things were so solemn and morose, but the melancholy was poignant, with a sense of finality. He had no regrets, no dread. Just repose with an unusual anticipation, but not one of nervousness. At the memory, a similar shiver tingled down his spine and branched out across his nerves, fraying them with excitement. Sebastian's intentions had been clear before, but they were enigmatical now. Their bottom lips gingerly bumped against one another's, tentative as they began to slowly press together…

…And then he smelled it. He smelled himself on Sebastian's breath, though the salty residue was gone, and the realization sent him reeling. He snapped his head away quickly, and out of his peripheral vision, he saw Sebastian move forward and then freeze. Jaw clenched, he collected himself, swallowed by the shock of what he'd nearly done. _What the hell was that? I almost kissed my damn butler. _His expression crumpled into a mask of repulsion, especially when he realized that Sebastian had been moving in for a kiss when he turned his head; and Sebastian knew full well what he was doing. A disturbing hormonal fluke, that must be all. Just as all of his dreams about Sebastian were as well.

"I'm tired," he mumbled, gritting his teeth. "I'm going back to sleep. When I wake up, I'm expecting breakfast… as in real food. Then we're going hunting." Ciel didn't look up as he iterated their schedule, and, while Sebastian was more confused than before, he found it wisest not to comment on the awkwardly indecisive kiss.

"Understood, master," he complied, trying to recall the recipe for a sweet, powdered tart his master enjoyed. Of course, given their obscure whereabouts, it was mildly irritating for him to go retrieve the ingredients for the pastry; God knows the boy didn't actually need anything to eat. However, he doubted the insensitive boy minded that; in fact, that could be exact his exact intention. Not that he blamed him.

_Even so… breakfast and then hunting? Certainly he'll end up cloying his own appetite. I've kept him so spoiled, but my young lord is turning out to be quite the little glutton as well._

Sebastian stifled his smile at the thought. After a minute, as Ciel had announced he was going back to sleep but made no attempt to move, Sebastian sighed and lifted him up, placing him on the bed. Ciel's clothing and sheets were still damp with sweat, uncomfortably so, and his privates were still a bit wet with spit, but there was no way in hell that he was about to mention that. Sebastian lifted the comforter and tried to usher him beneath it, but Ciel leaned back, resting his weight upright on his palms. Sebastian paused, satiny covers in hand.

"Is something the matter, my lord?"

Ciel had a notably sour look on his face for two reasons. Firstly, because he recognized that something had been prodding him in the back when he had been seated in Sebastian's lap earlier, and, since he highly doubted his butler liked to carry a long feather-duster handle in his pocket, it had just occurred to him what it was that had actually been poking him.

In addition, Ciel decided that he needed to ask him now; he hadn't wanted to question his butler's motives since the initial outrage, but it was difficult to suppress his confusion, and he could not find a more opportune time. Though afraid of the answer and unsure what to expect, he said, "Tell me why you did that to me."

It was such a quiet, extinguished comment that it attracted Sebastian's serious attention. He supposed that he did owe his master some expression of sincerity, if the boy had taken it to heart as some form of assault and it deflated his pride to this level. It had been selfish, but he hadn't actually intended to hurt Ciel.

"Forgive me, my lord," he took a knee at the blue-haired boy's bedside, bending so far over in respect that his face was not visible behind a lustrous raven curtain of hair. "My behavior was unsuitable for a servant, much less a butler of the Phantomhive family. My deepest apologies for such brash, offensive action. Please allow me to explain myself."

This must have been the response Ciel wanted, as he heightened his posture at being raised above the other demon once more, and his will rekindled. He nodded in permission. Sebastian could not lie to him.

"I did not predict it would upset you so; rather, I sought to relieve your tension. I was unable to refrain because I was overwhelmed. Your soul, my lord," he halted, unsure of how to explain what he knew. "It's out of my reach, but I can taste it on you. Of course, it is only possible to taste in those fetching moments of your… human emotion. Given the circumstances, I couldn't contain my enthusiasm. I've never been immune to the taunts of your soul, young master."

He waited for the information to dawn on Ciel's expression, but after the Phantomhive considered this, he didn't seem too startled. After all, it didn't change the situation or endanger him, and in his eyes, all other implications were trivial. In fact, he acted as if the news had no effect on him whatsoever.

"My soul…" he began, sounding contemplative. "So do you mean to tell me that you were common enough to suck me off because you were hungry?"

Sebastian did not reply; not so much as a twitch of recognition graced his fine features, but the look in his blood-red eyes was somehow less serene.

Unexpectedly, Ciel Phantomhive snorted. "It appears demons are even lower creatures than I give them credit for."

"Well said, my lord," Sebastian smiled a little too benevolently, turning the scathing words back onto his master. The blue-eyed boy scowled, clenching his fists, but he was far from seething. In fact, the angry grimace looked almost… hurt. He wiped the expression from his countenance instantaneously; however, Sebastian had already seen it, though he interpreted it incorrectly.

"Oh, and my lord, I pray you do not misconstrue my hunger," Sebastian mentioned. "Never in the past have I had any interest in fellating my prey, I assure you." Another flush crept onto Ciel's cheeks, diminishing his pallor.

He turned to go make breakfast preparations, leaving his rumpled master by himself, which he thought would be appreciated; he made a note that Ciel would likely need another bath before they went out today. Silently, Sebastian was smoldering with achievement. In addition to that, he also prided himself on destroying and entirely rebuilding his master's power in a matter of minutes. Powerless: that's what he was without Sebastian, even now. But the boy wouldn't allow himself to be powerless with Sebastian. And, in a self-depreciating way, he _loved_ it.

However, his accomplishment weakened on hearing another pressing question; Ciel sure was unpredictable today. "If it's not a habit you make, then why did you do it to me?"

Sebastian stalled before he breached the doorway, about the throw back a slick retort, when he realized that, besides the heat of the moment, he didn't know the reason himself. Would hunger alone excuse such a stark lack of self-control? Some part of him already had his suspicions, and because of that, he was afraid to find out. That familiar unamused glare bored into the back of his coal-black jacket with a new intensity; the demon felt his blood run cold, thick and sluggish in his veins. Sebastian Michaelis was never at a loss for words, but here he was speechless. So he answered with the only thing that he knew, with every fiber of his being, was true.

"My master is… special to me."

There wasn't a way to phrase it besides that, despite the statement's redundancy. Stern-faced and stolid, he left the room.

Ciel was in a mild reverie. Earlier, little did Sebastian know, Ciel had not been infuriated by the act so much as Sebastian's intentions when he was told. He had sexually violated him out of hunger. For an unknown reason, a pang of sadness gnawed at his gut after learning it; something akin to disappointment. He supposed that he shouldn't think much of debauchery at this point; it wasn't like he had been defiled, and he shouldn't have expected any more from another demon. His body had not been worth much to him initially anyways, and he supposed as the body of a demon it was worth even less. Of course, he never predicted it would be used like this, but still could not compensate with a reason for being upset. If it wasn't important to him, why did he feel such a nauseating blow to his morale when he thought of _why_ Sebastian did it? What had he hoped for anyways, for his butler to like him and touch him out of honest infatuation? No, he didn't want anything sugarcoated like that either, and he knew better than to hope for things.

A floorboard creaked ever-so-lightly under an inhumanly graceful tread, and Ciel pinched his eyes shut. He didn't want to talk with Sebastian now. The treacherous door had never clicked closed after the demon's exit, and it swung open at a single placid knock.

"Young master, I forgot to inquire at what hour you wished to be reawakened for your meal—" Sebastian's voice caught when he saw Ciel's supposedly sleeping frame. Ciel silently hoped that, were there an entity for demons to pray to, the odds would be in his favor and he would be left alone, but he heard the condemning patter of footsteps approaching him. He cursed in his mind, but wore the best sleeping façade he could muster.

He was encased in a dark abyss with eyelids shut, and in the black enigma he could hear the softening chuckle of his butler. Sebastian couldn't help but feel uplifted. Despite what the brat could put him through, he could feel unencumbered of his burdens with one look at his master's sleeping face. The fondness had been present as a human, and it hadn't changed after the transformation either.

"Sleep well, my lord," he murmured, yet it was impossible to distinguish if he actually thought Ciel was asleep because of his sarcastic tone.

However, seconds later Ciel realized that he must have believed it, and the trick worked better than he had bargained for.

In the pitch-black behind his lids, he saw nothing. Yet he felt, and smelled and heard. That comforting scent that simply was Sebastian seemed to grow nearer, closer with each second. Spontaneously, he sensed a pair of lips gently stroke against his own, so light it was hard to ascertain that it wasn't his imagination; and he laid stone-still in shock, not daring to sacrifice his guise, letting his butler kiss him.

* * *

**A/N: No evil cliffhanger this week, folks! However, next chapter is when they actual go about forming a contract, and I have to say that next chapter is probably my favorite so far! Please review, kittens! It means the world to me!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Looks like it's Spiffy Sunday!~ First and foremost, I am forever indebted to Thegraybluekitten, Zoegurl49, CatatonicVanity, emberstar55, Andrea, Nana Three Hundred, 4everking, dontpsychoanalyzeme, promocat, Thanks4updating, isthisparadise, and the wonderful anon and thateyepatch who messaged me about the story via my tumblr! (My URL is sexysteve, but I'm not sure exactly why you would want to follow my blog...) Anyhow, your amazing reviews are what inspire me to keep writing, and I love all of you! *wipes tears away with a crisp strip of bacon and eats feelings***

**I have TWO**** more Sebaciel stories going up this week! They were meant to go up last week but I was too busy to finish them since I was getting my ass handed to me at weapons camp xD Anyways, I'd cry tears of joy if you guys checked them out! They'll both be one-shots or two-shots, I believe... **_Best Left Unspoken_ **and** _Incubus_**...**

**Ooh, an extra long chapter this time~ The timing switches around a bit, so I guess just pay attention to what time of day it is. x) There _is_ an OC, but don't worry, she's not in any way going to interfere with the Sebaciel, as she is a miserable middle-aged woman. xD**

_Chapter 5 Songs:_

_No Light, No Light- Florence and the Machine_

_Plug In Baby- Muse_

_Always Find Me Here- Transit_

_Angel With A Shotgun- The Cab or Nightcore (whichever you prefer)_

**Disclaimer: I know this will devastate some of you, but I have to come clean... I'm still not Yana Toboso. I know, it's a shocker.**

**Warning: I guess I ought to warn you about mild violence/gore... but it's seriously not that bad...**

* * *

Chapter 5:

She was hovering. Suspended as if she was in a dream, yet fully certain that she was awake, flat and outstretched, watching the gleam of feathers undulating in the dark. Where was she? Some ethereal enigma, in complete solitude; no, she was not alone. Two crows perched on a scraggled, slender limb to her left, nestled closely beside one another. The taller crow resided at the top of the branch, sleek black feathers glinting proudly, boldly curved talons locked onto the wood. The bird beside it was smaller in stature, and one of its beady eyes glowed a blind, iridescent purple, though she saw no light to illuminate it. Where had this vision come from?

A deep voice echoed about the cavernous space, ricocheting off of nothingness, and the sheer power of it resonated in her bones. Even so, the smooth baritone was eloquent, and mild in tone.

_We answer the call for our assistance. You summoned us here._

The disembodied, lulling voice soothed her almost instantly. It lapped over her festering worries about this ephemeral environment, and her craning neck grew limp, so that the avians rested in her peripheral vision. She wanted to find her voice, to inquire her whereabouts to whoever was speaking, but perhaps it was not as urgent anymore. There was something incessantly gnawing at her mind, something she was trying to remember.

_We will compensate you in any way you desire for your sacrifice. Though I must warn you, once you assent, the gates of paradise will forever be closed to you._

"My daughter…" the woman finally croaked out in a raspy voice, some of her senses returning to her. "I did…" So she had asked for help! And this was no dream or mirage. Had it really worked?

Her eyelids shuddered as a pale light seemed to radiate from beneath her, lighting some of the darkness and shining primarily on the pair of crows. Were they speaking to her? In this foggy trance, her reason was shrouded, muddled, but she could not fight the dire purpose tossing restlessly inside her. Then, in perfect unison, two male voices resounded in the dark.

_Do you want to make a contract?_

* * *

"This better be worth the effort, Sebastian," Ciel sighed, walking briskly down the cobblestone street at bustling midday, butler in tow.

"Do you not suspect that this soul will be to your liking, my lord? After all, you picked her out yourself."

"_I_ wasn't the one who chose her," he scoffed, though he didn't seem particularly put out. "We just happened to be nearby when she called. A terribly sloppy job she did of it, too."

It was true; they hadn't _really_ been summoned. Even so, it had been intentional, and not accidental as Ciel's summoning had been. A few botched incantations and an amateur ritual, picked up from God-knows-who on the streets, a desperate and faithless cry for any form of help, and they had answered her plea. There was something provocatively tentative in the way she suspected that she was summoning demons, but had still been in minor denial, and was in disbelief when she figured out what they truly were. She had not been terrified of the hallucinatory mirage, nor did she wear a victorious smile; in fact, she just seemed groggy and confused. Even when she accepted their deal, the conditions were mild.

"I agree completely, young master," Sebastian asserted. "However, I am sure her taste will suit your appetite."

"Perhaps," he snorted, hesitant to agree. "You've told me stories before, about what you find appealing in a soul, and I've had some experience myself. You heard her reasoning as well as I did. She's too selfless and empathetic, and very dull in will. Weak. I feel like the texture would be… mushy or something." He wrinkled his nose. "Mawkish, even… not a good type of sweet, either. Yes, definitely mawkish."

"I understand, my lord, but you cannot only observe the negative," he chuckled optimistically. "Think of the hard determination she must have, to live her life in such strife and go so far as to sacrifice her soul to save another. She may be stronger than you credit her with."

"There's a difference between self-willed strength, and the strength which one has to force on oneself to survive," the earl muttered. "And there's nothing attractive about desperation."

_Speak for yourself_, Sebastian wanted to reply, dwelling on how very _desperate_ Ciel had looked earlier in the day. However, all he replied with was a noncommittal, "I'm certain it depends on the soul."

"You make a point… I suppose every soul does have its imperfections," Ciel assented. "Surely you've never stumbled upon a human without one disagreeable trait?"

"Only one."

A moment of silence followed, but when Ciel finally recognized who he meant, he barked out a laugh. "Honestly, just because you're my butler doesn't mean you need to feel the urge to flatter me. I thought you would have learned that by now."

"I would not dream of it, my lord; I cannot lie to you, if you'd recall. Every demon has particular tastes, and your soul was perfection to me. Contrarily, there is not a single thing about my master that I do not love."

Sebastian's eyes flared open as he realized what a blatantly domestic comment he'd let slip. _Well, there's no harm in the truth. He must know there isn't anything I dislike about him._ In fact, he believed he had already made that clear; he had been insisting on his complex, hungering adoration for Ciel since the day the contract was signed. Regardless of what hell the irascible boy would drag him through, regardless of his cruel tendencies and the inescapable bond itself, he could never detest that coveted soul, and the person it belonged to. The debasing lengths he went to for the boy; they were hardly deplorable if he didn't love him. It wasn't until recently that he noticed to what extent these emotions stretched to. Oh, he could pretend to struggle with this infatuation, newfound but long-term, but he had already decided how he felt about Ciel. Regardless, he couldn't let him find out just yet.

Ciel had colored a bit at the praise, but soon passed it off as insignificant. He still couldn't explain that bewildering kiss from earlier, and wanted more than anything to decipher what was going on in his butler's head. Afterwards, when breakfast was prepared, he pretended to wake up regularly as ever, ignoring the inconspicuous peck as well as the morning's earlier events; not because order was restored so much as to not suffer more indignity. He had wanted Sebastian with him for eternity, otherwise he never would have signed the contract, but he had never predicted that it would entail all of… this.

"So long as it's satisfactory in the end," Ciel snipped, changing the subject. "I don't want to go far out of my way following her wishes if she isn't worth my time."

"I understand, my lord. At least her instructions are rather simple and easily accomplished. I've had to face far more ridiculous orders in the past."

Ciel gave him a harsh glare.

"Anyways, we are fortunate she didn't demand any servitude or prolonged attachment besides the fulfillment of her wish. The wish itself is simple and can be granted swiftly. She didn't take advantage of us how she could have."

"That's because she's old and desperate," Ciel said, exasperated. "Decrepit and withered up and sapped of creativity."

"I would take advantage of it if I were you, young master. You always have the potential to order me to do your work for you anyways."

The boy glanced over his shoulder, and for the first time since that embarrassing morning, actually _looked _at Sebastian. Somehow, the butler seemed wearier than before. The Phantomhive boy suddenly realized that, in addition to his lasting hunger, the older demon was now under two contracts, and two sets of orders. It was barely detectable, but it hindered him; his motions seemed more lethargic, and his smooth stride barely hitched, just enough to be noticed by Ciel alone. A pang of guilt intercepted Ciel's guard, and he grimaced a bit. He had felt as if he was under a spell before, and he was never one to watch a shackled bird suffer, even if it was by his doing.

"Don't… don't talk as if I'm incompetent," Ciel claimed, as if his words would unencumber Sebastian. "I'll carry my end of the bargain."

Sebastian nodded once, but didn't comment on the unorthodoxy. As frustrating as all of these restraints and limits were, he was surprised to find out that he actually enjoyed the boy's company. It did not lighten his hardship, of course, but it was an intriguing change of pace after traveling alone for so long.

The orders they had were laughably easy, anyhow. The woman they had consulted with, Camilla Croft, was in her late thirties, and her sole concern left in living was her only daughter. The little girl's father had abandoned them, marrying Camilla only for the hefty dowry involved, and had vanished with all of their wealth and belongings as well; Camilla had no family to return to anymore. Vivienne, the young girl, was an awfully sickly child, and her mother, for years, had been seeking any means to gain profit that would supply her with the food and medicines needed to nurture her; these "any means necessary" methods of obtaining money were hardly wholesome, and after so long, Camilla was finally spent. It was nearly Vivienne's seventh year, as her birthday was in a couple of weeks, and her mother had lost the instinct for self-preservation. All she wanted was for Ciel and Sebastian to track down Vivienne's treacherous father, take him for all the wealth he had, and put it untraceably in the girl's possession; she wanted a prosperous, happy life for her daughter, and more than anything, for her to be protected.

"You don't honestly think she wants us to guard the girl for the rest of her lifetime, do you?" Ciel had asked his demon directly after confirming the contract.

"I'm sure she will be more specific with her meaning once the vengeance in complete. We've already complied anyways," Sebastian had replied none-too-cheerfully. "But it's nothing to worry about, master. For those like us, with eternal life, the human lifetime is barely longer than the blink of an eye. Especially the life of a being as ill as that little girl is. Chronic coughing fits like she has… she won't live to be older than her mother is now, I assure you."

The lack of compassion in Sebastian's voice barely unnerved Ciel, and instead he found himself relieved by the firmness in Sebastian's conviction. Now, the pair dutifully tracked the convicts; apparently, the bountiful sum of money procured from Camilla's inheritance had flourished into an even more impressive abundance, nursed along by a thriving system of drug dealing. The man in question was assumed not only to be far wealthier now, but also to be involved in insidious business. Nothing they couldn't handle.

"All we need to do is find and kill that drug lord, then take the money to Vivienne and bring her to her mother. Cut all ties. Find someplace to shelter her, hell, maybe give her a country estate of her own. She'll need knew papers as well," Ciel listed. "Am I forgetting something?"

"Not as far as I'm aware. We are only required to make sure the girl lives prosperously."

"Yes, yes, I know," he mumbled. "All for a child… well, it's a noble charity, I suppose."

At that moment, two long arms wrapped around his torso and hurled him backwards like a ragdoll; he lurched into a broad chest, sputtering from the impact. In the grip of his butler, he watched in shock as a rickety carriage throttled past, tires sloshing through the muck that seeped in between the cobblestones. A rush of fresh air and it was gone; another save by Sebastian, who had pulled him out of harm's way instants before he was hit.

Ciel Phantomhive released a gasp that he wasn't aware he had been holding. Sebastian's body was still pressed to his tightly. Though the majority of his lifetime he had always shied away from personal contact, the fortitude of Sebastian's arms was comforting as always. Occasionally he forgot how safe he felt in the other demon's embrace; but he _was_ the person dearest to Ciel, and even the butler himself knew that. Even so, out of habit, the boy clamped his unhinged jaw shut, and sought to regain his demeanor.

"I'm not going to die, you know," he grumbled, batting off the attempt as if he was being coddled.

"Excuse my habits, my lord," he said suavely. "I would not want to make a scene, and it would wound me so to see you injured. My master would be far less attractive with his brains dashed across the streets."

"Tch," Ciel snarled, unmoved by these supposed sentiments. "You're so profligate."

"You've told me before, my lord, numerous times. In fact, I've been called many other, more obscene versions of the same word."

The corners of the boy's mouth twitched in a smile at the statement. However, he was too frustrated by how nonchalantly his butler absorbed the insult, how faithful he was despite the slues of verbal abuse. All of this out of bloodlust for his soul?

He couldn't understand it. He could easily comprehend the spectrum of human love. Thin, but welcoming, and quickly cloying in excess. Nevertheless, while he knew Sebastian was the creature most precious to him, living or dead— the photograph taken with Talbot's camera had proven this— he still didn't understand it. He doubted he would ever understand love amongst demons.

* * *

"Hello? How can I help you gentlemen?" a middle-aged woman asked upon viewing the two figures on her doorstep, which were brilliantly backlit with the halo of late sunset behind them. She had cracked the doorway open to peer out, and this allowed a view of the interior. The inside of the building was in hectic disarray, and was running rampant with dirty children. The woman occupying the doorway had another infant propped soundly on her robust hip. _So the address we were given is a daycare of sorts,_ Ciel reasoned.

"Ah, we are here to retrieve a Vivienne Croft," Sebastian prated with a pleasant smile.

"I see… and who exactly are you?" the woman continued, eying the pair distrustfully.

From what the older woman could infer, the young one was undoubtedly a nobleman; cane and cloak and cap, with a butler by his side. Both males were clad entirely in varying shades of black, though the boy was adorned with ruffling pleats and fine fabrics beneath his coat; even so, both were the very picture of sartorial elegance. It was peculiar in the first place that anyone wealthy would stroll through this despondent part of town, much less knock on her door. However, there was something about the couple that she just couldn't place her finger on. Perhaps it was how disheveled the men were, hair ruffled and eyes glinting with shards of light, in contrast to their kempt clothing. Whatever the cause, the woman felt a sickening foreboding from so much as glancing at them.

"Here." The short nobleman grunted in irritation and retrieved a small pouch from the inside of his coat; the miniscule bag was heavy with money, dangling from his fingers like a ripe fruit. He dropped it into the woman's hand. "See? Now it doesn't matter who we are."

The hotheaded adolescent barged through the door once it opened a bit more; the woman wore an aghast expression, but pocketed the cash in her bosom anyways. Sebastian stepped forwards after Ciel and offered the woman an apologetic smile. He lifted a gloved hand and placed it on his chest to give her a curt bow.

"Please excuse my master's impudence. I assure you, we are on business for the girl's dear mother."

Although the woman still felt tentative to believe the strange man, the genuine sincerity in his voice was quite persuasive, and she opened the door for him. If anything, she was grateful for his courtesy.

The boy lingered in the foyer, waiting on his butler with an impatient frown. As the two walked away together in search of Vivienne, she heard the boy grumble, "I told you we should have cleaned up before coming here."

At the time, she hadn't the faintest idea of the premise the boy suggested.

It wasn't until later, after the pair had already departed with the girl, that she knew what characteristic about them had disturbed her. It should have been painfully obvious on their arrival; how could she have been compelled to miss it? Had she been under some kind of trance? On both of their clothes. Bloodstains.

* * *

Ciel and Sebastian knew that they had been sighted the instant they stepped foot in the establishment. Of course, with their advantage, they had not machinated with surprise on their side; in fact, they were indiscreet enough to walk directly into the front door of the warehouse. The first hint that they had been spotted came in the form of a raucous shout, an alert, as if the man had mistaken the indignant, nobly-dressed pair of having some affiliation with or guiding the police. The second hint was a salutation of bone-rattling machine gun fire.

The air vibrated around him palpitating with the heavy artillery, and things seemed to move in slow motion; the sensation of the disturbance was so grand that he could feel it resonating in his bones, seizing him before he'd even been hit. Ciel froze in awe, watching machinery spit fire into the air, and some complacent part of his mind pacified him, telling him that he would not die; because of Sebastian, death had not frightened him for some time. Yet he was still petrified at the display, at the blaring rain of ammunition, and deafened by the pounding repercussions ricocheting off the warehouse walls. He sensed the _thwip _of two coattails snapping past him, and gaped as Sebastian instinctually stood in front of him, a bulwark against the brunt of the force. Though he knew he was immortal, Ciel did not expect it to feel like _this._ In fact, he didn't understand the full weight of what was happening until he watched a sizzling bullet rip through his butler's back, trailing tattered fabric and flesh, and bore straight into the center of his heart.

In his life thus far, Ciel had experienced and tolerated more pain than any fourteen-year-old boy should be capable of enduring. He had been tortured and branded, he had been shot before, and upon his transformation, though his body was still numb and awakening, he had Sebastian's fist thrust through his chest, demolishing his ribcage and quite literally bursting his heart. After all of this, and even being aware that he could not perish, hadn't anticipated this _agony._ Sebastian, who had sufficiently taken most of the first round, lurched to the side, leaving Ciel entirely vulnerable. His thoughts processed slowly as he felt his heart throb around the piece of metal embedded into his flesh, festering and blistering. And the next onslaught hit his body.

The bullets pummeled his being relentlessly, ripping straight through him like hell-born, ravenous creatures, shredding his skin and taking chunks of it with them. On each impact, he was struck with an arsenal of needles, aching in his nerves. _I won't cry out_, Ciel thought, gnashing his teeth and huffing through violently dilated nostrils, waiting for the infernal burn to stop. But it didn't. The raw intensity swayed him, the sheer force jerking him back and forth as if he was dangling from puppet strings, yanked maliciously by the hands of fate. Insufferable. A scalding inferno swallowed him now, tearing him to pieces with whizzing pellets, bit by bit. Shaking, his jaw opened, as if to cry out, but he was cut off when he aptly snagged another bullet in the back of this throat. It burrowed into the niche of his spine, slick blood spurted from the wound, splattering over his lips and running down his chin, sliding down his throat and choking him. With a hot flash that rippled through his body yet chilled his bones, Ciel crumpled to the ground and passed out.

However, he was only unconscious for a couple of minutes, which made the affair immensely anticlimactic, from his own point of view. Dappled with red and riddled with holes, he peeled his lids open and ogled the ceiling; the blood in his throat had begun to coagulate, and it dried thick, impossible to swallow. Gulping and gagging, he lunged upwards, peering around. _Did they stop firing on me when I fell? And where is Sebastian?_ He recollected his orders for his servant. Ah, that's right. He had told his butler not to concern himself with protecting him, and to capture Vivienne's father under any circumstances; he was also told to kill any man who interfered. _He disobeyed me inadvertently again,_ Ciel fumed, though his anger was poorly directed. _He's fast enough to dodge the fire, but he jumped in front of me first._

With a cursory glance at the room, he deduced that Sebastian had moved on, and nearly all of the men had tried to "interfere". Amongst the sprawled bodies of the dead, Ciel couldn't help but chuckle when he saw a few mildly-injured and shock-blanched men left alive start loading their guns in fear when they saw Ciel rise.

Straightening his spine, Ciel cringed as another jolt of pain wracked his body. He would heal clean, no doubt, but he hadn't known the capacity of pain demons could feel. He wondered how many decades Sebastian had lived through before he became immune to the sensation. Or did he still feel it, but never cared to admit it? His lips twitched upwards at the thought. Sebastian would never complain.

The demon boy moved forwards a couple of steps, his motions and creaky and his limbs trembling. He could feel the bitter sting of bullets still caught in his joints and the fractures of his bones, pinching and grinding into his marrow whenever he moved. His marred and damaged flesh was healing quickly, but barely held together. He was unable to decide yet if it was excruciating or just irritable. Either way, he was debilitated, and the cacophonous clack of approaching shoes, as well as grotesque exclamations, echoed from the corridor. He kept limping forwards.

Even without Sebastian, he now had indescribable power. He could take them all on his own.

* * *

"No snide comments out of you," Ciel snapped over his shoulder, looking severely embittered as they trekked the long route back to Camilla's house. He didn't much care for conversation, as his throat was still sore from the warehouse earlier in the day, and he could practically _feel _Sebastian's irksome smile.

Vivienne, at nearly seven years old, was too short to travel remarkably fast, so Ciel had naturally advised Sebastian carry her. He would have happily obliged, but the instant they departed, the little girl had snagged onto Ciel's hand; much to Ciel's dissatisfaction, she had a habit of sucking her thumb, and as soon as that wet hand latched onto his, it was nigh impossible to pry off. Sebastian was struggling to stay behind them, shortening his gait with stiff strides.

Ciel flinched at feeling those moist little fingers squeeze his tighter. _Really, seven years is much too old to be sucking your thumb,_ he thought with a defeated disdain, knowing it was unpreventable. Now that the favored hand was occupied, she switched to the next, popping her thumb into her mouth with gusto. Ciel wrinkled his nose. _Doesn't she think about how unsanitary it is, living where she does and always keeping her hands in her mouth? If I didn't know better, I'd say that's the reason she's always ill. _Children had no logic; they lived off of naiveté and blind trust and the benevolent words of their elders. Ciel was robbed of his childhood, and at times like this, he was not sure if he was not grateful.

_But soon, she will be robbed of it, too, _Ciel noted. _She'll be given everything she ever wanted, and then we'll kill her mother. No, kill is too soft a word— we'll obliterate her mother, rip her soul in half for the both of us. She'll never have existed._

"I suppose this must be some humorless form of karma," he grumbled in a tone so quiet that it would not be received by human ears. When he heard his demon chuckle, he addressed him directly. "Can't you just pick her up anyways?"

"I don't see why her affections bother you so, my lord," he answered in equally low frequency. "She probably just finds you to be cute."

"Are you mocking me?" Ciel cried, louder this time, rounding on his butler. To any mortal in the streets who hadn't heard the prior conversation, the outburst looked absurd.

"Not at all, my lord. In fact, I mean to complement the young lady whose tastes are so befitting. I think the young master is very cute as well."

He sighed, aware that the butler was egging him on, but didn't reply, more for the sake of the child's ears than anyone else's. A crush from a seven year old girl was one thing; being openly flirted with by his butler was another. He would regularly consider it a comment meant for his ego, and brush it off as jest, or reply with something so snarky and degrading enough to make the butler frown as well. Even so, he could not stop a telltale flush from rising to his features. The earnest appeal induced a jittery feeling he wasn't entirely comfortable with. However, he had felt like this ever since they had killed the drug lord in that damned warehouse.

* * *

"My, my," was the sigh that greeted Ciel as he rushed into the backmost room of the building.

Sebastian sauntered over to his bedraggled master, thinking about how much he would have to repair the boy's clothes later, and knelt at his side, reaching to pluck a bullet from the skin behind Ciel's ear. The earl uttered a sharp hiss, but the smoothness with which Sebastian performed the act made it nearly painless.

"Oh, this would have been so much easier if you had been born a demon," Sebastian said, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. He looked a bit irritated, as if Ciel's stark disregard for his own well-being had offended him as well. Suddenly, he began pinching and twisting at the muscles in Ciel's body, prodding at the wounds.

"What are you doing?" Ciel gurgled, before tilting his head to the side and spitting a jet of blood onto the floor.

"Teaching you a trick, my lord," he instructed. "Now, clench your stomach and throat muscles like so."

The Phantomhive boy did as he was instructed, feeling the leaden weight ebb from his extremities and gather in a tight, constricted mass at his center. The heavy feeling lodged at his core was terribly unraveling, in addition to Sebastian's strange methods, and he felt a bit unnerved. It was getting difficult to breathe. The older demon wrapped his arms around the younger, aligning his fisted hands with the boy's middle, and suddenly wrenched his arms backwards, in an askew version of the Heimlich maneuver. Instantly, Ciel doubled over coughing, bloodied bullets spewing forth from his mouth. Another thing he hadn't expected. He remembered seeing Sebastian spit out bullets he'd been shot with before, but Ciel found his own version of that to be far less aesthetically pleasing. The moment Sebastian's arms left him, he dropped to all fours, heaving and wretching out the ammunition left in his throat. His throat was grazed raw from the initial ejection, but the throbbing, dull ache in his head had begun to subside. He hacked out a few more unbefitting gagging noises as his body convulsed a final time, and the last stragglers clanked loudly against his teeth, before dropping into the slippery egress of blood and metal.

"There are other ways to dispose of the bullets, young master, but that is the most efficient method. I apologize for any discomfort," Sebastian said as he walked away. Ciel whipped his head up to see where his butler was going, though the abrupt motion made his temples pulse, and he reached up with his sleeve to wipe a long, dangling strand of crimson saliva from his lips. For the first time, he noticed another figure in the room.

"I followed your orders, my lord, and he has been captured. Unfortunately, it took longer than I would have liked, so, while I have time to stitch and repair our clothing temporarily, I daresay we have no time to wash it, or ourselves for that matter. I'm sure few people will notice the temporary stains."

The gruff-looking man that Sebastian steered out was incontrovertibly bound and ensnared with rope, to the point that Ciel questioned how he was able to move at all. The man stared Ciel straight in the eyes with a gaping terror. And why wouldn't he be frightened? He had just watched a fourteen year-old boy hobble in like the undead, and then wretch a plethora of bullets onto his floor. Frightened, in Ciel's opinion, was the minimum he ought to be.

After a couple of moments, Ciel realized that Sebastian was dawdling due to a lack of orders. The bound man's eyes flitted nervously between butler and master. Though visibly quaking, he found his voice.

"I don't care what you do to me! You can turn me in to Scotland Yard for all I care! I'll never tell you where the boss is hiding!" he gasped out in a furious bluff. Regularly, he may have had interest in interrogating the drug lord's affiliations further, but it bored Ciel now, and as for the law, he was no one's guard dog anymore.

"We're not here for your employer. We're here for you," Ciel drawled in a monotone, wiping his scarlet-streaked hands on his jacket. "No one's coming for you, so you may as well relax."

The blue-haired boy had affirmed the latter himself. Unfortunately, he had done a poor and messy job of it. Sebastian was always advising him to make primarily clean kills, as that would draw less suspicion over who— or what— was responsible. However, due to his rusty movements and inexperience with inhuman speed, not one of his murders was sightly. As he had scrambled about trying to find purchase, limbs were lopped off and scattered about, innards strewn about recklessly, sopping and stewing in warm pools of polluted blood. The only "clean" kill he accomplished was when he accidentally strangled a man by dashing past and strewing another's entrails around his neck. He ripped and plowed through his victims, tearing handfuls of wet organs out of unsuspecting men, and in instants, the room reeked repugnantly, air thick and humid with the acrid stench of early decay. Every death had been intentional, but he believed he may have been more humane if he had means of properly using his reflexes, without bullets scraping and clogging his joints. Anyhow, it wasn't as if his demon instinct gave him much remorse for it. For the most part, he was just concerned that Sebastian would be disappointed with his disorderly, sub-par performance.

"Does he match the papers?" Ciel inquired.

Sebastian nodded firmly.

"And has he confessed to the location of the money yet?"

"He did not confess, young master, but he didn't need to. I've been tracking his gaze the past few minutes, and it always hovers around yet never lingers on that desk in the corner. I presume there to be a safe behind it." The dealer's eyes seemed to bulge from their sockets at hearing Sebastian's acute assumption, and they glistened bloodshot in the dim lighting, marbled with veins.

"Ah… so what are you waiting for?" Ciel issued. "I order you to kill him."

"Yes, my lord."

On the utterance of those three words, Ciel had an epiphany to answer the mystery he had been pondering all morning.

He believed that he knew what human love was. Fleeting and transient, and fully expendable, it could be granted and taken away in the blink of an eye; and even if it lingered, it was adorned with petty excuses and premature judgment. Human love was not dependable, because the things humans had to love about each other weren't dependable either. Some ill concoction based on physical beauty, on one's past and future, and moods and quirks and memories as adjustable as the whimsical love itself was. It was a trivial force, a poorly sewn web of affections to group people in favor with others.

Demon love, on the other hand, was a new sensation entirely, and even gave a new definition to the sappy term "love". It was true that demon's love was incomparable to man's; and yes, the emotional, complex affair did derive entirely with hunger, obsession, and possession at its roots. Demons had no grasp on human empathy, and their love was no less selfish than man's. However… perhaps the mortal ideals were the ones at fault. Demons loved the soul; they never relied or dwelled on past experiences, temporary feelings, or physical attraction. The one thing they adored was the human soul: all that a person was or ever would be, every hope and dream, surpassing the boundaries of personality. The quintessence, the entirety, of the person. And, while it was difficult to obtain, if one gained the honest love of a demon, the demon's infatuation would never be quenched until the human belonged to the demon forevermore; even then, it was a treasure to be cherished for eternity. Like the soul, a demon's love was unchanging and absolute. The love of a demon was everlasting. A love amongst monsters that bested the moral codes of men.

Ciel stared in a sated wonder as Sebastian plunged his hand into the center of the man's chest, watching the blazing maroon stain spread across his shirt like a red hot sunrise breaking over the horizon; and he watched Sebastian, in all his debonair and civilized excellence, withdraw his heart from his chest, taking the man's vitality with him. The motion was crafted so swiftly that the heart hadn't even stopped pulsating. The organ lay in Sebastian's splayed palm, and beat a couple more times in vain before it promptly stilled.

And Ciel understood.

The boy suddenly recognized what it must be like to love another being in full entirety, for every insignificant thing composing the essence of what they were. He knew what it was to cherish one creature above all else in the world. The insistence that made the whole ordeal so infuriating was that Ciel, though his desires had been dull without curiosity to whet them, had known all along, and it was right under his nose the whole time.

He watched his butler, fine in stature and regally composed, earnestly yet not insidiously clutching a human life in his hand, letting it die beneath his very fingertips.

Ciel looked at Sebastian and understood love amongst demons.

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**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please favorite and review if you did, lovelies! Seriously, a word from you guys can make my entire day! ^-^**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Well well well, looks like it's Sexual Sunday this time around!~ Anyhow, first and foremost, I want to thank Thegraybluekitten, Nana Three Hundred, 4everking, Totawaii, Zoegurl49, emberstar55, , Lithius, Narutopokefan, addicted2sasunaru, promocat, and the anon for their touching reviews! I would also like to thank thateyepatch and georgeshelleylovehearts for their continued support on tumblr! Seriously, I love you guys. I do aspire to be a novelist someday, so your praise means everything to me. I want to kiss your lovely faces and bear your children. xD**

**HEY. THIS IS IMPORTANT.**

**No, not really, but I finally uploaded some of my fanfictions! Please check out** _Best Left Unspoken_ **and**_Incubu_s**! No, they're nothing like this one and both complete, and yes,** _Incubus_ **is probably, pardon my blatant profanity, disturbing as fuck. Do you want to read them anyways? Of course you do!**

_Rotten Apples,_ **the Alois fanfic I've been working on, won't be up for quite some time...**

_Chapter 6 Songs:_

_Kiss Me, Kill Me- Mest_

_Kill of the Night- Gin Wigmore_

**Disclaimer: If I was Yana Toboso, why would I be writing fanfiction about my own manga?**

**Warning: Bring on the butt stuff~**

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Chapter 6:

Ciel's brows knit together as another chorus of cheers and the cacophonous shattering of a wine bottle reached his ears. Sebastian had chosen to spend the night in a hotel above a tavern, frivolous as it sounded, just to cater to Ciel. The lodging was actually quite pleasant, and would be very comfortable, were it not for the constant carousal going on downstairs. The older demon had reassured him that they would settle down before too long, but contrary to his word, London's grimy night life still thrived, even at this hour past evening.

A sudsy cloth slid over his shoulder, irregularly gentle; however, Ciel was aware that the only reason Sebastian was bathing him so carefully was due to the belief that he was still sore from earlier; it was true, one didn't get riddled with bullet holes every day, but he had recovered so completely by now that there was not so much as a muscle cramp to testify to the agonizing event. Though the pain was negligible now, the Phantomhive boy still received some guilty, spoiled pleasure from having Sebastian dote on him more meticulously than usual. Yet even this was not a pleasing enough notion to deter his mind from what had discovered earlier in the day, nor enough of a distraction to deafen his ears to the chaos on the first floor.

Noticing his master's irregular brooding expression, Sebastian attempted to cheer him up, interrupting the regular train of silent contemplation that Ciel carried on during his baths. "You did well today, my lord. I suggest we arise early tomorrow. You'll be receiving your reward quickly, after all."

"I don't need you to tell me that," Ciel brushed off the praise, his eyes tracking the motions of the cloth as it moved to scrub his other shoulder. "And that's alright. After all, it is your reward, too."

"Not really."

The earl seemed puzzled by his butler's blunt, ambiguous answer. He cocked his head just an inch, and as Sebastian knew the gesture well enough, he began to explain.

"My only real reward comes from satisfying and pleasing you, young master," Sebastian Michaelis recited.

Ciel blew his steam-damp bangs from his face and reclined, unsure if Sebastian had intended to be facetious or literal in his statement; he could certainly sense where a double entendre could be implied, but chose to ignore it. The towel swirled across his chest, leaving a foaming trail of soap bubbles in its wake, and he fidgeted a bit when it grazed over his nipples, provoking a tingle across his skin. His eyes widened instantly. _When the hell did I get so jumpy?_ Feeling a bit on-edge, he glanced at his butler, just to affirm that the demon wasn't monitoring that reaction; if Sebastian had been amused by his light shuddering, he didn't show it. No, he just continued to studiously scrub the boy's abdomen, pausing near his waistline and resting the cloth on his hipbone.

In the more recent months of adolescence, Ciel had taken it upon himself to wash his lower regions, and would usually snatch the rag hastily from Sebastian's hand, mumbling about how he'd really rather Sebastian not be "rooting around down there". It wasn't that he didn't trust his butler so much as that he didn't trust his own reactions; it definitely wasn't worth the embarrassment. Even so, if he was ever stirred, he had several mental images in his mind that could quickly solve that and calm him down. Picturing the Jack the Ripper cases or the Viscount Druitt's sexual advances usually did the trick. Regardless, after he had begun to develop those dreams about Sebastian, he doubted that even that could diminish his will.

Sebastian himself had never thought much of it before, and while he had always been attracted to his master, he didn't dwell on lecherous thoughts of the boy. As a mere butler, he wouldn't dare. This, however, _definitely_ had changed.

Ciel chided himself on his own musings; lifting an eyebrow and looking unimpressed, he gave his butler a glance-over. "Go ahead."

The blue-eyed boy wasn't certain then why he did it. He slipped back into his silent reverie, mind meandering through his earlier thoughts. The soaped rag swathed over his thighs underwater, before shifting over to softly rub his balls. The young earl had to stifle a snort; all of Sebastian's cleanly ministrations were so careful and light that they had begun to tickle. At the angle he was at, Sebastian would alternate between standing at Ciel's side and behind his shoulder, but his limbs were so lengthy and precise that he never moved sides. Without realizing it, seeing his butler lean in front of him, Ciel had begun to scrutinize his servant again. The humanoid demon looked so casual while bathing Ciel, in comparison to his regular dress; his ebony coat and ecru gloves had been discarded, his sleeves rolled up past his elbows to keep them dry. Even with these improvements, and the sartorial nonchalance with which it was exposed, that flawless skin was still too masked for Ciel's taste. Again observing his butler in the most peculiar and wanton ways; once he had caught himself doing it, he was vehemently indignant.

There were few things he considered himself above doing, but he was _not_ lusting after a male servant. Unfortunately, it was getting very hard to rebuke that in his mind.

In his body as well, evidently.

Tantalized as he was when he had been meditating about Sebastian, his mind had wandered, and under Sebastian's caresses, simultaneously soft and rough because of the gauzy fabric in his hand, he had grown completely hard. Ciel flinched, cheeks burning in horror. At that exact moment, Sebastian's hand moved from his sack and bumped against Ciel's erection, sensing the heat it radiated even through the thin fabric of the cloth. Ciel averted his eyes and gulped heavily; he knew that Sebastian wouldn't say anything, and would likely just go on scrubbing him, but he still twitched when he felt his butler's palm wrap around him. In a hasty movement, as if to get Ciel's discomfort over with, the soap-slick cloth glided over his shaft once, evoking a sigh, and moved.

Sebastian himself wanted the bath to be as cursory as possible. Ciel's arousal heightened his own urges, and he was currently battling a savage onslaught of temptation, one that couldn't be quenched just through petty touches. That aromatic, musky freshness that was Ciel seemed to swell in the misty steam, mouthwatering and mesmerizing. He knew he needed to taste Ciel again, that was a given. Yet he didn't expect that he would need to touch his beloved master again for other reasons as well; he was startled to find that Ciel's blissful expression and breathy moans were nearly as addictive as the taste of his soul. It took tremendous will to resist delving in.

"Don't half-ass your job, Sebastian," Ciel cleared his throat, coughing nervously. "I'm… still not clean."

Instantly, Ciel was ashamed, because he now knew why he allowed Sebastian to clean him there in the first place, and it was utterly basic of him. He _wanted _Sebastian to touch him.

Sebastian looked astonished for a moment at Ciel's forward initiative, before smiling and nodding in assent, looking a little too excited about this new ordeal. The hairs on the back of Ciel's neck rose, and he shivered when he felt Sebastian's body behind his shoulder, nearly an inch away from his own bare skin, and he saw Sebastian's washcloth-clad hand slip below the bubbles. An instant of anticipation, and Sebastian was grasping him again, delivering long, patient strokes. The solid grasp and the cloth itself provided delectable friction, but it slipped easily up his length with the excess soap. A liquid hot jolt seemed to carve straight through his middle, coiling as warmth in his gut, tingling in his groin. Daring to let the rag drop from his fingers and sink in the tub, Sebastian edged his thumb over to massage the head of Ciel's penis, fervently rubbing the slit. The feeling of Sebastian's smooth skin on his own was enough to have him clench his teeth and release a barely-restrained groan.

Ciel sank deeper into the hot water, reclining leisurely, but still clenching and tensing his stomach muscles, body arching with breath. His eyelids fluttered shut as he bucked his hips involuntarily; his butler's pace seemed practically exponential, and the demon stroked him with such vigor that the water was sloshing from the tub with just the motion of his arm. The boy moaned weakly, his head tossed back over the edge of the basin, and the sight only spurred Sebastian on further. Ciel's heartbeat pulsed through his entire body, fluttering exuberantly in his stomach and throbbing in his shaft. Feeling Ciel's heartbeat shaking his frame was too much for Sebastian, and he couldn't repress himself.

He lowered his head directly next to Ciel's, and though the earl's eyes were closed, his breath still hitched. He craned down to gingerly press his lips at the crook of Ciel's pale neck, and kissed the juncture between his neck and shoulder, trailing his lips over the pulse point. The boy exhaled, and Sebastian's hot breath, washing over the hollow of his throat before ghosting along his clavicle, only made his heart thrum faster. The palpitation, the vivacious rush of blood, lured Sebastian out of his reason, and he raked his teeth over the fragile skin, careful not to break it. It was the worst taunt of all, to stop himself from ravaging and biting the boy, to prevent himself from indulging in that body however he pleased. He must be gentle for now; in a twisted way, that would make it all the more worthwhile. Extending his tongue, he traced Ciel's jugular, licking up his neck and running the tip along his narrow jawline, before tenderly nipping the underside of his chin, as if testing him. How badly he wanted to kiss Ciel, but among all of the physical entreaties he could bestow upon the master, he wasn't sure if that wouldn't offend him the most. An intimate liplock with a lowly cur like himself? The Earl of Phantomhive would never. So it was all Sebastian could do to express his affections by vigorously moving his lips everywhere else, planting vicious, open-mouthed kisses all over Ciel's unblemished throat, relishing in his taste.

"S-stop," Ciel suddenly gasped out. Sebastian started, assuming that Ciel addressed his behavior, and was disgusted to have his demon's mouth on him; it hurt, but it was understandable. But that was not the case. Instead, Sebastian was pleased to see that Ciel was on the edge, writhing slightly in the water, his legs quivering and kicking. He ignored his master's overwhelmed request, and only pumped faster, his hand a blur as the boy's moans escalated in volume.

For an instant, Sebastian was horribly conflicted. True, he couldn't stand the idea of missing the flavor of Ciel's soul; that being said, he also didn't want to subject himself to such desperate conduct. It would only prove his master's opinions, and he already held Ciel on a pedestal of sorts. His pride and logic warred with his instinct and desire for a second, but in the end he caved. He bolted forwards, leaning over the earl, and dunked his head beneath the water, wrapping his lips around Ciel's hardness. The boy's eyes burst open, blinking rapidly in shock, before a shudder rolled over his body, pressure tightening and building to the point that it nearly ached, pleasure sizzling down his spine. His muscles constricted a final time, before his body froze and he was stupefied by ecstasy.

In a separate world underwater, Sebastian's only warning was a pair of thighs compulsorily clamping on either side of his head, holding him in place and bending his neck at a near-painful angle, before the boy released, his taste hitting him full-force. Sebastian was stationary as Ciel's body jolted beneath him, perfectly content in savoring the compelling taste of his ambiance, stronger than it had been the previous time. Sebastian was mildly disappointed that most of it had been ejected directly into the back of his throat, depriving him of the piquancy. Even after his orgasm ended, Ciel's taut thighs unintentionally kept Sebastian secured. After Sebastian gave a few experimental sucks, the boy's body twinged a final time, leaking a bit into Sebastian's mouth, and he relaxed enough to let him go.

Sebastian languidly withdrew his head from the bath, crystalline trails of water streaming from his hair and pouring in whorls off his face. Ciel's elbows rested on the rim of the basin, and he stared Sebastian in the eyes, head hung and face flushed. The earl still looked startled, but his mouth curved upwards ever-so-slightly.

"It's a shame you moved," he panted. "I was really looking forward to watching you drink my bathwater." Sebastian narrowed his eyes and licked his lips testily.

As soon as the spiteful words left his lips, he closed his eyes and the smug expression faded; he sat still for a moment, breathing heavily.

Sebastian smiled softly at his master's demeanor, despite being wounded from indignity; perhaps it was that cloying intoxication from Ciel's essence, coupled with his earnest concern for the boy. Sebastian retrieved the towel and offered it to his master, even though his own head was still drenched. The blue-eyed boy finally stood up in the tub, crossing his thin arms across his chest and drawing into himself; he had lost some degree of confidence at rising nude and being encased by the chilly air. Sebastian draped the fabric about his shoulders, patting at the dew-like droplets that beaded and glinted on his skin. Ciel's flesh was roses and cream under the oppressing steam and his own exertion. _Such a lively blush does complement him. _Ciel surprised Sebastian once more by refusing to move, so the older demon set to drying him.

When he was a human, Ciel could regularly remember moments when Sebastian's negligible touches lingered a bit too long, and sometimes, he would even swat them away, if he found them inconvenient. This was new, however; now, it seemed as if Sebastian's hands never _left _his skin. The towel had divulged his body of any excess water, but it wasn't alone in its mission; Sebastian's fingers snuck teasing little strokes across his body, ticklish and lighter than the tread of a spider on its intricate web. Fingertips everywhere, sweetly tracing along his skin, swirling in patterns down his back, dipping into the crevices of his spine and shoulder blades and back dimples. His head hovered in orbit as well, and his breath washed over him with the grace of a specter; when the air ghosted over the small of his back, a trail of goose bumps sprouted in its wake. The next time Ciel shivered, it wasn't from the cold.

With his butler in close proximity again, he found himself disconcerted; after all that, Sebastian hadn't even bothered to kiss him. If the demon could kiss him in other places, then why not his mouth, in the simplest of affections? To hell with propriety, after all they'd done. Sure, his butler clung to him now, as if Ciel was all there was sustaining him, but that never meant this was any more than business or hunger to Sebastian, despite the devotion he attested to. Ciel did not bother to avoid coming to terms with his affection anymore, as it was plain how he felt, but now, it seemed like these feelings might be unrequited. Sebastian did love him in some way… didn't he? He couldn't stand the idea of only winning his appetite.

He bit his lip in anger and flipped his shaggy, greyish-blue hair from his face. A hearty chuckle startled him, and when he glanced down at Sebastian, his face turned beet-red.

"Young master, are you going to need help with this as well?"

Apparently, Ciel was stiff once more; rather, he had never gone flaccid. He grit his teeth in irritation. _How pathetic do you have to be to get a hard-on from thinking about kissing your butler? _He berated himself.

"I… I don't care," Ciel shrugged, though his voice was tinged with uneasiness. "Do whatever you'd like." The young earl had to avert his eyes this time, mainly because seeing his own arousal so plainly was becoming a bit embarrassing.

"Then do you mind if I try something a bit unconventional, my lord?" Sebastian asked a little too swiftly.

Ciel gaped a bit at the notion that Sebastian already had ideas in his mind. Nevertheless, he answered with a disgruntled grumble, "Didn't I just tell you that I don't care?"

"Alright," Sebastian smiled amiably. "If you find it displeasing after, let's say, one minute, then I will stop immediately."

Ciel was hesitant, but did not want to reveal this, and nodded. The older demon grinned, before slipping his own fingers into his mouth and coating them with saliva.

At first, the boy was indifferent when he saw Sebastian's hands drift behind his back, and felt one of them cup and squeeze his rear lightly, pulling him closer; looking back, Ciel wasn't quite sure what he expected. He did not expect one of those wet fingers to softly rub at his puckered entrance; though he liked the stimulation, a pang of anxiety sliced through him. When the finger slipped all the way inside, however, he went manic.

"Ow! Sebastian! What the hell are you trying to do to me?" he shouted, trying to wriggle out of Sebastian's grip and determined to get that finger out of him.

Subconsciously, Ciel was astonished to realize that, though it ached upon entering, the prickles of pain from the intrusion vanished in seconds. Ciel frowned bitterly. _Well of course it wouldn't hurt for long. He is skilled at these types of things, I suppose._

"One minute was the bargain, my lord," he negotiated. "It will make sense shortly. Please bear with it."

Ciel's stubborn scowled remained impertinent, but he stopped struggling. Another finger was added, and he noticeably winced at the sting, but didn't react otherwise, as he now knew that, somehow, it wouldn't hurt for long. After a moment of adjusting, the fingers inside of him took up a slow but steady rhythm of thrusting, slipping in and out with little resistance and caressing his insides. Even so, the experience was neither painful nor pleasurable so much as _strange_. Some weird, slick invasive feeling that he wasn't quite comfortable with. Should he start counting the seconds or something?

"Ah, here," Sebastian said pleasantly, as if he'd found something, and pressed down, grinding his fingers into some sensitive spot in the boy.

Reflexively, Ciel emitted a moan that was decisively high-pitched, before his eyes snapped wide open and he clapped a hand over his mouth. Sebastian rubbed his prostate again, inciting a ripple of pleasure through Ciel that trembled in his legs, to the point that they nearly gave out. Significantly speeding up, Sebastian smirked in success and rammed relentlessly into the boy; he could sense the pent-up energy swelling, and knew he was already close.

The boy was leaning and arching both into and away from the touch; he was parched for more pleasure, but at the same time, the sensation was so raw and intense that it was nearly painful. He had bent himself over Sebastian's frame, his elbows resting on his shoulders for support, and relied on him more and more often as he shook uncontrollably, sweltering as beads of sweat sluiced off of his body. Mouth agape, he panted and heaved, guiltlessly unaware that he was probably drooling on Sebastian's coat.

The raven-haired demon detected a loud rapping on the wall from the lodgers adjacent to them, and smiled at the noise complaint. It was true, Ciel Phantomhive was moaning brashly and shamelessly, something he would never be caught dead doing in his right mind. However, in this delectably reckless state, he cried out at volumes Sebastian hadn't even known the frail boy was capable of.

Unexpectedly, Sebastian saw the muscled, slim contours of his master's body twinge, and hips bucked forwards; Sebastian was already hunched over, so with the bucking motion, his master's hard length chucked him under the chin, and he frowned in mild annoyance. However, Ciel's hips jerked again, and this time, he involuntarily pushed the pink tip of his erection past Sebastian's lips, and buried himself in the heat of his mouth. The crimson-eyed demon blinked in surprise before he felt Ciel double over, clawing at his back, clutching skin and fabric alike. Groaning without restraint, his legs twitched and clenched as he released, thrusting almost violently into Sebastian's mouth.

The older demon marveled at the excessive amount of semen flooding his mouth, still startled by his unpredicted release; as the thrusting continued, he was actually starting to wonder if the boy could bruise his lips with his pelvis, when the groaning finally fell silent.

Distantly, Sebastian's ears snatched up the sound of even angrier knocking on the wall, accompanied by easily-decipherable insults. Sebastian gently pulled Ciel from his mouth with one hand, licking at a strand of connecting saliva that dribbled from his mouth at the loss, and removed his other hand from Ciel, watching the boy's body shudder. He winced when he saw traces of blood on his fingers, but noted that Ciel didn't look to be in any pain. In fact, the boy's weight had entirely collapsed, and he leaned entirely limp on Sebastian; the butler almost laughed to himself, thinking about how funny the boy must have looked, wrapped about his head this way. Yet the instant he thought that, Ciel's legs finally did give out, and the boy swooned to the side, his heaviness rolling off-kilter and threatening to fall. Reaching above his own head, the butler adroitly caught the earl and maneuvered him into his own lap, bundling him into his arms.

Given the productive nature all worthy servants are required to have, Sebastian usually would have started Ciel's bedtime arrangements where they left off without a hitch, but something was different now. Though he was satisfied again with the taste of his soul, he felt content to just sit here, clutching the boy abnormally tight, and inclined to bury his nose in the boy's damp hair, inhaling his scent and rubbing a hand soothingly down his back. Both of them were heated and wet from sweat and bathwater, and their thrilled heartbeats almost seemed to thunder as one. Sebastian wanted direly to express how this exceeded hunger, hell, even exceeded wanting the boy for a life mate, but he wasn't sure if that was his place, or how he would begin to convey it. Before he could say anything, he was startled to hear the impossible. Sniffling.

Ciel Phantomhive didn't cry; that was almost unheard of. Yet here he was, body wracked with miniscule sobs, whimpering so quietly that it was barely audible. The instant Sebastian raised his own head to look at him, the boy rubbed his face with a fist, erasing all evidence of tears, despite leaving a smudged red mark. He bit his lip, scrunching his face up slightly, but hardly managed to choke down another sob before he turned to burrow his face into his butler's chest. He did it simply because he couldn't stand the idea of Sebastian watching him do something so pitiful, but he was unaware until he did it how crying into his butler's shirt would look so much weaker with yearning. Even when he knew there was no power play present, this exhibition of vulnerability was too morbidly mortifying. In honesty, he hadn't cried because he was upset or hurt; in fact, it felt good on a prodigious level, to the point his orgasm had almost taken his consciousness with it. He always knew he would never break from physical agony, but he never considered breaking from its opposite. He was clay in his butler's hands again, but never dreamt of leaving those hands.

And literally, he did not leave those hands for several more minutes; Sebastian, wishing to preserve his master's spirits, sat cradling him long after his short bout of weakness was over. Afterwards he had stood, grateful for the boy's being so minute in stature, and carried the naked earl with one arm, using the other to outstretch a nightshirt on the mattress of the bed. He laid the boy prostrate on his clothing and helped him into it while he was flat on the bed.

Ciel, drifting in and out of consciousness, was now back to pondering over the kissing, or lack thereof. He had kissed him before, but he had assumed that Ciel was unconscious. Had he some ulterior motive for that as well? Was there a reason otherwise that he let himself be so degraded? It was unthinkable, morally or otherwise, for a human to love a demon, but he saw no objections to two demons, to pair untamable, obsessive beasts.

In addition, Ciel wasn't stupid. He now knew exactly what the fingers were a precursor to. And though he resented acknowledging it, he wanted it. He wanted Sebastian.

But, some way or another, he needed to figure out how Sebastian felt for him.

A hand shot up and grappled onto Sebastian's tie, constricting it around his throat and tugging him down sharply. For a brief moment, once Sebastian realized it was his master's grip that had latched onto him, he wondered if this was some form of punishment. Did the boy mean to strangle him? If so, such a rebuttal would be quite uncalled for this time. Yet that wasn't what Ciel, in his delirious state, had in mind.

With a harsh jerk, Ciel yanked Sebastian's face to his, and pressed their lips together with a fervor that shocked the older demon from his senses.

Seconds afterwards, the boy finally succumbed to exhaustion, and nodded off to sleep, tie in hand.

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**A/N: A scene in which Sebastian gets slapped with a dick and Ciel bursts into tears. And they said it couldn't be done. (If there was a moment, I probably just ruined it...). The next chapter is back to the action, but we all need a sexy shota tangent every once in a while... x)**

**Anyhow xD Please favorite and review to tell me what you think! It positively makes my day. :) And please check out my other fanfics!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Would you look at that? It's Sunday!~ I feel like an eternity has passed from last Sunday to this one, partially because I've been enduring my third insufferable week of bandcamp, which is over 12 hours a day, and I've been sick as fuck with who knows what... Alright, I'll stop complaining x) Anyhow, I want to thank Thegraybluekitten, Sprankles, emberstar55, beyond-the-night, promocat, Totawaii, VampireSiren, and pantsutan for their reviews! I'd also like to thank thateyepatch for continued support! I know I talk about it every week, but seriously, your kind words are my reason for writing. Despite my aspiration, I actually don't have much confidence so far as writing, so your feedback means everything to me. I love you guys.**

**Also, I hereby sell my soul to Thegraybluekitten for the riveting reviews I've received on this fanfiction as well as others, as they are my primary reason to continue ^-^ That will cost you one cookie... What's that? pantsutan already gave me a cookie? Okay, my soul is totally for free then~ Also, Sprankles- when can we have that wedding ceremony?**

_Chapter 7 Songs:_

_Time Is Running Out- Muse_

_Demolition Lovers- My Chemical Romance_

_This Is How I Disappear- My Chemical Romance_

**HEY. YOU THERE. YEAH, YOU, THE CUTE ONE... You should check out** _Incubus_ **and** _Best Left_ _Unspoken_**. :) Some phenomenal shit right there~**

**Disclaimer: I'm running out of creative ways to tell you guys that I'm not Yana Toboso...**

**Warning: I suppose I should warn you that there's more mild violence/gore, but it didn't perturb anybody last time. x)**

* * *

Chapter 7:

A vivid cerulean sky greeted the Earl of Phantomhive when he awoke, the sunlight casting a crisp, butter-yellow brightness in the otherwise dreary room. It was so brilliant that even when he closed his eyes again, the backs of his eyelids seemed to glow scarlet. Scowling, he blinked several times, trying to collect his wits about him. _How late is it? _He panicked, grimace deepening, and snapped his head to the side, meeting a pair of crimson eyes.

"What the hell, Sebastian?" his first words of the day were groaned out in a plaintive voice thick with sleep. "What time is it? Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I believe it is about two in the afternoon, my lord," he responded with an exasperated smile. "And I did wake you up, three times I believe, once every hour." The demon gestured to the corner of the room; on the floor were the shattered remnants of an oil lantern that had previously belonged on the nightstand, one which Ciel assumed he had hurled at the butler while he was half-asleep.

"After the third time, you semi-coherently ordered that I 'leave you the hell alone and go pick some goddamned flowers or something'," Sebastian added a little bitterly, gesturing at the bedside table. In place of the demolished oil lamp, a cheap vase full of flowers now sat on its surface. "Ever since, I've been waiting for you to awake, as you advised."

The genuine smirk of amusement Ciel wore at the news was brief, and he lifted a hand to his mouth, stifling a yawn. Something was bugging him…

His butler walked off to retrieve something else, making a few offhanded comments about how he had been easier to wake up as a human, which didn't seem quite right, but hey, maybe adolescence was to blame.

"Wait!" Ciel lurched upright in the bed. "We were supposed to have new papers made and processed this morning for Vivienne… now we're behind schedule…"

"Not to worry, young master," Sebastian emerged from another room, salver in hand. "I took the liberty of preparing the girl's papers, as well as scoping out a property and possible responsible servants for her, while you were sleeping."

Ciel slumped, relieved at the pleasant news but disappointed that he'd hardly accomplished anything. "So you've done everything on your own?"

"Don't look discouraged, now. One of the primary reasons I delegated the duties to myself was for the schedule's sake alone. In the long run, this is simply more convenient for the both of us. We aren't permitted to stay another night above this tavern, anyhow."

"Not permitted?" Ciel raised an eyebrow. "As in the man is audacious enough to kick us out?"

"Unfortunately so, my lord. The owner of the tavern says he received several noise complaints from his other tenants, and prefers we lodge elsewhere in the future. He pulled me aside as I was coming back with your flowers."

Ciel stared dumbly at Sebastian for a moment or two, but as soon as the last night's escapades unfolded in his mind and he realized what the complaints were for, the blood rushed to his cheeks.

Meaning to change the subject, Ciel loudly cleared his throat and glanced away sternly. "Well… thank you for finishing that up for me last night, Sebastian." The butler snickered, and Ciel, flustered, spat out, "I meant finishing Vivienne's papers!"

"I know, my lord. What else could you have meant?" Sebastian smiled, composing himself.

_Damn demon. How irritating._

The earl was further beside himself when he realized the beverage Sebastian presented to him on the platter was a tall glass of water. He looked at him petulantly.

"I've prepared tea for you as well, young master, but as your caretaker I would advise you drink this beforehand," he explained. "I'm well aware of your demonic disposition, but you seem so attached to this humanoid form, and recover more slowly than other demons. You should take care of simple health maintenance."

Ciel lifted the heavy glass with one hand, eying it thoughtfully. He smacked his lips together; yes, his mouth was dry, but not fretfully so. "I'm really not even that thirsty, Sebastian."

"If you insist, my lord. I only recommend it because I would not want you becoming weary or dehydrated," he conversed as Ciel lifted the glass to his lips anyways. "After all, you did release a rather copious amount of sem—"

He was cut off as a spray of water shot from Ciel's mouth in astonishment. The boy coughed and sputtered for a second before angrily chucking the entire cup of water at Sebastian's head. The butler dodged to the side, and the glass sailed through the air, only to shatter on the opposite wall, clinking to the ground in sparkling fragments and spattering a large wet stain across the wood. Sebastian's lips twitched upwards at the corners.

"I suppose I'll bring in the tea, then. Though I do suggest you don't hurl it across the room as well. We are guests here, after all."

"No promises," Ciel grunted.

He had wondered at first if the ordeal between them would change after the night before. Now, however, the only thing that had changed was Sebastian's demeanor. When Ciel had first become a demon, his butler was solemn and almost self-pitying in his solitude; in recent weeks, and especially over the last couple of days, he had been reinvigorated to his regular, infuriating self.

Ciel nearly regretted slinging his glass of water across the room; on pondering his butler's self-pleased antics, his mouth had become eerily dry.

* * *

"Actually, Vivienne, I think Sebastian is a _perfect_ name for a dog," Ciel beamed a little too amiably.

He surveyed Sebastian's reaction in his peripheral vision; a noticeable flinch, followed by a painfully placid smile and a nod of agreement. The little girl's eyes, which were regularly the dull slate grey of dirty rainwater, seemed to sparkle with new liveliness at hearing Ciel's approval of her promised pet's name. At the mention of his own namesake, Sebastian looked far less overjoyed.

The rickety carriage bumped down the beaten dirt path, jostling its inhabitants; the four had nearly reached their destination, a homely yet regal estate where Vivienne would be staying while her country house was under construction. The demon pair had gone to retrieve mother and daughter directly after departing from the hotel above the tavern. Unfortunately, they encountered their neighbors from last night upon leaving, who looked horrified on discovering that the copulative couple was a young boy and his older male servant. The Phantomhive boy shrugged off their indecent mumblings with an impressive glower, and it was Sebastian's gaze, stoic and a bit too pleasant, that silenced them. Afterwards, the four had swiftly boarded up and traveled in fair weather for the remainder of the journey. One of Vivienne's necessities to living happily, apparently, had been a puppy; she was all too eager to tell her new friends about her intentions for names, despite how obviously uncomfortable her mother was with how chummy she was with the demons.

Several minutes later, the carriage driver announced their approaching arrival, and soon enough, the wizened tires were groaning as they came to a halt. The girl burst from the doorway, skeletal limbs flailing, and was soon bustling and scrambling over the vast lawn towards her assigned maid and new pup. Ciel waved Camilla out after her child, bidding she say goodbye, and watched the woman sluggishly exit the carriage.

"It seems so petty," Ciel remarked once Camilla was out of earshot. "Looking at how insignificant everything is. Surely people have given their lives for less, and I might have seen the way they did, once… but it all seems pathetic now, in a way. I can't explain it."

Sebastian Michaelis laughed outright. "It has come to my attention, my lord, that you degrade demons, despite being one now, and you equally condescend on humans, though you've been human as well. It makes me wonder if you really do have no shame."

The earl's nose wrinkled at his servant's suggestive language, and he narrowed his sapphire eyes. What did he imply by that? "Shame? Not for you."

Sebastian only chuckled. Ciel obdurately ignored it, pointedly looking out the window to watch Camilla attempting to pry herself from her daughter's grasp. He gently clicked his tongue, impatient.

"My lord, if it is not too bold of me to say, you may want to watch your tongue prior to the… procedure. One can never have a truly grateful soul, but the contract is only of worth if the soul goes willingly."

"Why does it matter what she thinks?" Ciel drawled. "She's inconsequential. She'll cease to exist. By the time we're done, there won't be a place in hell left for her."

Sebastian's mouth hinted the phantom of a smile, elated with the boy's unintentional irony, and couldn't help leaning closer to the younger demon. "So well spoken, my lord."

* * *

"I trust that you're ready," Sebastian spoke warmly, "but we couldn't possibly accept your soul without fulfilling our side of the bargain. You said you wished for your daughter's protection."

The demons waited for her to expand on her instructions, yet she stood petrified, shaking with fists clenched, a curtain of fair hair cascading over her face. It was extremely unclear what she was experiencing, be it fear, regret, or misery, but as the pair was bound to the woman, the torrent of emotions whirling inside of her was obvious.

"… I said I wanted her to be safe, but I never said I wanted you to be the ones protecting her," she started at last, voice tense and oscillating as she began to lift her head. "In fact, I don't want you to stay near her, watching her. I meant it with every fiber of my being when I said I wanted to save her from this life, so she wouldn't be a thing like me. Not in any way. And if there's one thing she needs protecting from, it's people— no, monsters— like you!"

She had gone rigid on her final outburst, and with her face in view, the tears prickling at the corners of her eyes glistened; she wore an uncharacteristic expression of virulent fury, chest heaving with uneven breath. Glinting in her eyes, in this caged instant, was the passionate emotion Sebastian had been waiting for. Hatred.

It was amorphous as to where her hate stemmed from initially, but it had all coalesced together, and was finally ignited by the panic of her last moments alive. Ever since they left Vivienne, she had practically been trembling with distraught, like a cork ready to pop. But she wasn't afraid; she was angry. Camilla Croft was not so spent after all, despite her outcast, debilitating lifestyle; she had enough energy for one final fight, to express her detest at her fate, her luck, her world— and now, at her able targets, the monsters who were soon to devour her. To Sebastian's satisfaction, she was now ready.

Faithlessness. Nobility. Persistence. Satiation. Sentimentality for Ciel's sweet tooth. And now, this beautiful dosage of loathing, the last yet most potent seasoning to the soul, which seemed to sear it to perfection. He had to be swift and meticulous in order to keep her in this state for Ciel's sake. Calm her enough so that she would detach from this mortal life willingly, yet slaughter her before this coveted hatred could fade.

"My lady, I promise you," he swore solemnly, addressing her with his permanent butler's etiquette, "we will never lay a finger on your daughter; to dream of it would be traitorous. We will also ascertain that no other creature of our realm dares to venture near her. Your little girl will be granted entrance to heaven when she dies, and her mortal life will be peaceful as well. Don't be afraid; for her or for yourself. I assure you that I have performed similar procedures hundreds of times, and you are safe within my hands." His gloved palm slipped the sleeve of her soiled gown over her shoulder, staring with diluted interest at the insignia present there, where she had requested it be. "It will be painless, not including some instances that may feel a bit painful for the purpose of teaching my master his lesson, and that's only to make a point of the method."

Ciel Phantomhive caught himself glowering at Sebastian's tender gesture towards the woman. Obviously, she was nothing more than prey for either of them, but there was something nostalgic for Ciel in the way he touched her. Though Sebastian looked far less fixated with her, Ciel recalled Sebastian caressing him in the same manner, and an uneasy knot began twisting in his stomach. One of both jealousy and… uncertainty.

"You didn't need to tell her she was my first contract, you know," Ciel snapped, releasing some of his irritation.

"Whatever happened to her opinion being inconsequential?"

The boy sighed at his butler's playful jape, before straightening up and striding forwards, keen on his lesson. Camilla had been soothed by Sebastian's reassurances, and though she still shook lightly, she was steadfast in her decision.

"Now, young master, the first step of the process is to kill the body. It isn't required that the life be extinguished first, but even if the soul is willing, the human body will naturally resist. It is mortal nature to quarrel against death, and cannot be helped. Therefore, a swift demise is very convenient, on both sides."

He spoke of the grim events with a ghastly enthusiasm, recounting the methods of soul devouring as if it were no more than a simple business transaction.

"Of course, killing the human is an infinitely versatile matter. Some demons enjoy the kill most, actually, for reasons I cannot fathom… Anyhow, you can kill your prey however you see fit. Traditional weaponry, a quick slash of claws, complete annihilation, a slit throat or broken neck," he listed. "I myself prefer a neat and tidy death, one that leaves little physical proof on the corpse, and doesn't obstruct the removal of the soul. A beautifully clean kill… Like so."

At his final words he turned, smile unfaltering, and tapped Camilla on the temple. A sickening crack rang out when the tip of his finger struck her skull, and the astonishment registered on her face for an instant before her body dropped to the ground. Her hair was fanned out beneath her like a flaxen halo, and her face still donned its shocked expression; the only difference now was a clean, bloodless dent in her head. She was dead.

The earl started at watching the woman fall so quickly, but the death itself did not disturb him; he had seen and caused far too many bodies in his time.

"So you can kill them gently, too?" he inquired.

"Yes, if that's what you'd like to call it," his butler said absentmindedly, kneeling down beside Camilla's cadaver.

"…Would a kiss work?"

"Yes," Sebastian answered, but he glanced at Ciel out of the corner of his eye, exhibiting more interest.

"Is that what you planned to do to me, then?"

"No, my lord," Sebastian's answer was cogent. "...You told me to etch the pain of being alive into your soul. So that's how I planned to take you, alive. More anguish and suffering than any human should have to endure. As you desired."

A thrill shuddered across Ciel's spine from the cold honesty, yet his countenance remained impassive. He was well aware that his demon couldn't lie, but he was certainly capable of omitting detail. Were those the lurid lengths Sebastian would go to, just to act on Ciel's utmost desires? Unsure of how to feel, Ciel stared at his butler in curiosity. Sebastian, whether obliviously or purposefully, continued to adjust and position the body before them as if the exchange had never passed between them, and then glanced at Ciel, to confirm that he was ready to move on.

"Now comes the extraction," he lectured pleasantly. "This also has endless possibilities. Even so, a demon of my years and caliber is expected no less of than to be able to slip the soul cleanly from its cask. That is all that bodies are; protective containers, if you will. If a demon goes about razing humans and stealing the souls, a most messy and unpalatable practice, it will have to be hasty, and usually involves destroying the body as well. However, as we have a permissive contract, we can take all the time we'd like. How would you prefer it?"

He started on another alien tangent, describing specific means, as Ciel stared blankly. It could easily be coaxed out with a flick of the tongue, he said, or a laceration could be incised, like a dissection, and it could be removed wholly. A whole soul is important, he said. That was why he advised a clean kill; it was no use fishing around in a damaged body for a soul's broken pieces, and utterly unappetizing to pick the pieces clean from shreds of flesh and bone splinters.

Ciel did not make a decision, so Sebastian bid that he observe, and suddenly, leaned in to kiss the dead woman. The watching boy nearly blanched, feeling increasingly uncomfortable, until he realized that Sebastian was not kissing Camilla, but rather extending his tongue into her. It was an eerie spectacle, watching him slowly and sweetly beckon her soul forth, rummaging inside of her with macabre intention. The demon's slotted magenta eyes seemed to glow brighter, and he languidly extracted his tongue, coaxing out the woman's soul along with it. Even after he withdrew, the woman remained slack-jawed and glaze-eyed, somehow looking even more grey and lifeless than she had before.

Sebastian's lips parted ever so slightly and he exhaled; from his mouth, the soul spiraled forth, and levitated in the palms of his hands. This type of soul was nothing Ciel had ever seen before. A silvery translucent hue, it flashed iridescent color as it undulated and rippled beneath the sunlight, looking to be some surreal texture that was both gelatinous and wispy, yet hardly tangible. Though it was barely even palpable, Ciel was magnetized by its beauty, and had never hungered for anything so badly before. Every soul he had consumed prior was naught in comparison. He remembered how, though less luminous, the other bodiless souls had looked similar, despite being so withered from age and wear. They had deteriorated at his touch, crumbling to powdery dust in his palms, and he had shoveled handfuls into his mouth, starved and still unsatisfied. Those were no more than hemorrhaging wraiths, though; not even comparable to ghosts.

"Young master, it is crucial, if you want to be humane, to completely sever body and soul," Sebastian digressed, before kneading his fingers into the silky soul. He thumbed the edge of it, and Ciel was shocked to see a disturbance vibrate through the air, like a rift in space. When he peered closer, however, he noticed a half-visible, silvery thread of mist connecting the soul to the woman's mouth. The soul had not been detached from the body; a botched performance, for the purpose of educating Ciel. "Otherwise, the results could be… unpleasant."

With that, he buried his fingers deep within the hazy silver and twisted, a fissure branching through the center. At the same instant, Camilla's corpse arched into the air with a jerk, bending backwards to an excruciating angle, and an earsplitting, unearthly howl split the air.

Ciel leapt back a foot, bewildered at the gruesome image, his face blenching with a sick pallor. "B-but she's dead!" he exclaimed hoarsely, not even bothering to cover his shock.

"Correct. Killing the body stops it from resisting, and does stultify conscious pain; however, death alone does not end pain. You of all people should understand this," Sebastian grinned darkly. "The body is dead, but the body, full of nerves and senses, is the physical manifestation of the soul. If still connected, it cannot only make use of the body's senses, but also use it to express its agony. It's a delicate thing, really. A free soul feels no 'physical' pain. Emotional pain is another thing entirely, but souls scream silently."

With another brutal rip, a tormented wail punctured the air. The woman's figure was now crippled into a distorted pose, almost as if her form mirrored her soul's disposition; as Sebastian inched his hands further apart, her very skin looked ready to split at the seams.

"Alright, that's enough, I get it!" Ciel spat out in a single breath, after another ear-shattering screech wracked the levitating corpse. Without further ado, Sebastian snapped the foggy thread, and the sound stopped instantly, Camilla's body buckling to the ground a final time.

Ciel was still astonished and pallid, but he walked forwards as soon as the string dissipated into thin air. A single drop of sweat rolled over his temple, and he wiped it off with the back of his glove.

Due to his candid fear, the sweat alone was saturated with his essence, and the mere scent made Sebastian want to drop the soul in his hands to pursue a new target, even if he knew it would be useless, but he resisted.

The boy had finally composed himself, and was now standing before Sebastian, entranced by the soul once more. His lips were parted, mouth watering, as he hovered closer and closer to his butler's hands. Looking satisfied, Sebastian entwined his finger in the thick of the soul and wound it about the digit, then extended it to feed his master, inserting it into his mouth. Watching the boy hesitantly suck on his finger, he gently rubbed his thumb across the boy's full bottom lip, smiling softly. Ciel's eyelids twitched, before fluttering open; his irises were now an illuminated fuchsia, and his demon's mark glowed vibrant with vigor. Teeth lightly grazed his finger, and the elder demon yanked his finger from the boy's mouth before he could bite him, reluctant to believe in Ciel's self-control. A hasty tug, and Sebastian completed his earlier tear, dividing the soul in two; Camilla Croft was no more, and not even reapers would be able to salvage what was left of her. Slowly, he guided the fragments of the soul up to both Ciel's mouth and his own, watching with surprise as the boy greedily and ravenously lunged forwards, devouring it messily in seconds, like a depraved beast. The butler gaped for a second before sucking his share into his own mouth. He was unimpressed with the flavor, but still exuberant from the satisfaction of finally being able to _eat._ As it slipped tenderly around his tongue, he lost himself in bliss, and hardly noticed Ciel scouring his hand for any traces left behind, eyes wide and frantic.

_More. There has to be more. _That lone thought ricocheted through his head, pounding and echoing through the chambers of his mind harder with each second that his mouth stayed empty. Only intrinsic thoughts swarmed inside of him now, as if consuming souls was the most instinctual thing in the world. He had felt hunger before, and dissatisfaction; but he couldn't have predicted the bounds of a starvation this severe, roiling in his gut, and he had never considered that raw hunger alone could drive a demon into want and madness. Yet now, after finally sampling something so splendid and divine, he understood, and he understood it better than anything he had ever acknowledged before. The primal, inherent need became urgent, and every instant he wasn't devouring Camilla, he felt as if he himself were waning, wasting away. He was entirely engulfed, possessed by this mesmerizing passion for the taste. So when he saw the faint gleam of silver on his butler's lips, he dove forwards to claim it.

Sebastian's eyes snapped open when he felt the warm lips press forcefully against his own; he had never expected the boy to do something so brazenly audacious in his right mind. However, when he felt Ciel's tongue shove its way into his mouth, he realized that the boy probably still wasn't in his right mind. There was a reckless abandon in the way Ciel kissed him, some wild fervor in the way he gasped into his lips and swept his tongue along the inside of his mouth, almost as if he was… foraging for something. Sebastian's thoughts processed slowly in his trance, intoxicated and pleased by his master's forward advances, as well as by the concocted savor of Ciel and Camilla rolling over his tongue. Even so, it took him seconds to realize what Ciel meant to do. The unruly brat was trying to eat the soul right out of his mouth. He had managed to devour far more than his own portion before Sebastian pried him away. In a heartbeat, Ciel had left Sebastian's side for the corpse's.

The raven-haired butler scowled, slightly annoyed that not only had the younger demon kissed him with that manipulative intention, but that he had also made off with a large helping of his meal. However, he could recall his first taste of a quality soul, and knew his master's desperation could hardly be helped. With a sigh, he approached the boy.

Ciel retracted his tongue from the woman in horror; he had stretched as far as he could down her gullet, lapped at her insides for any scant trace of her soul, but Sebastian had done his job too cleanly. The carcass was empty. _How the hell is it empty? It's the goddamned body, there must be something left!_ Panicking, he wondered if he was not going deep enough.

Gripping the top and bottom of her mouth, he violently tore it apart in a single motion; the flesh ripped jagged down the sides of her face, exposing the slick muscle and taut tendons beneath as it peeled away. With another grunt, Ciel wrenched once more, watching in satisfaction as the sinews snapped and her jaw dislocated with a crack, her face falling open; the force of the shove was applied directly on her gums, and her teeth in the front popped out and dangled like bloodied kernels of popcorn. Ciel plunged downwards again, now that he had made access easier. Regardless, as soon as he breached the gaping cavity, he was wrapped in an embrace and lugged away from the body.

Frenzied, Ciel writhed and kicked, trying to peel himself out if his butler's arms, spitting livid threats. Sebastian waited for the induced bloodlust to dispel from his system, listening as the vile insults turned to pitiable groans, and then to silence.

Once the boy was still, having affirmed it to himself that nothing remained, Sebastian released him. Crouching down, Sebastian wiped the dead woman's blood from his master's soft cheeks, ignoring the smudged, rusty stains left on his gloves. Ciel was not ashamed of his conduct; in fact, he could hardly recall all that had happened, smothered in incessant desire. Despite how rousing the event had been, and how empty it had left him feeling, he had never felt so powerful an exhilaration and contradictory fulfillment in his life.

"Sebastian… thank you," Ciel spoke softly; his face was stoic as always, but some thrill sparkled in his eyes, something reminiscent of the genuine smile he'd lost.

"The pleasure is all mine, my lord," Sebastian claimed, seeming to already have forgiven his behavior in light. "In fact, you practiced restraint much better than I assumed you would."

Ciel tilted his head liltingly to the side, catching sight of Camilla's brutally disfigured face, and cringed. He'd been completely aware of what he was doing at the time, yet now for some reason, the sight of her mutilated mouth nauseated him. He knew that he was demon, but he never wanted to consider the level of monstrosity he'd transitioned into.

"It's a shame about her face," Ciel reckoned, frowning.

"Indeed, young master. I pity whoever discovers the body, or has to solve the case," he noted simply. "I doubt there will be much lasting uproar… even so, it's always unfortunate to destroy a perfectly good body."

Ciel glowered; something about the comment irked him. "Why do you make such a fuss over bodies anyways? They're hardly the important part."

"Bodies can be important. A container is just about as valuable as whatever it holds."

"So what is the value of a container when it's empty?"

Sebastian smirked at the riled reply, sensing his master's misdirected envy. "True. I suppose I would be a pessimist as well if my glass wasn't always full."

_Now what does he mean by that?_ He couldn't possibly be referring to Ciel's unreachable soul, all of the scent and taste without the fodder. Yet it was apparent that was it, and Sebastian's lust for his soul seemed to keep his state of mind consistent.

"And I suppose if your cup was empty, my body would be fair game?" Ciel smiled bitterly.

"Of course not. I could never destroy your body."

When Ciel didn't reply, Sebastian took it as permission to continue, hoping, if anything, to evoke a self-conscious blush. "Naturally, there is always a special pleasure that comes with ruining pretty things. I'm sure most demons channel that satisfaction; the feeling one can gather only from corrupting the innocent and shattering the frail. A pleasure not only confined to demon-kind, actually. But a perfect body, an image of the soul itself, is something to be cherished. If it is not too bold of me to say, you are a very beautiful container, young master."

Ciel Phantomhive tensed at his butler's unassuming words, feeling a hand run through his dark teal locks. Something was bothering him. A container… was that all he was? An empty husk?

He may as well accept it; he was in love with his butler. Sebastian had purchased his soul, but he had stolen his heart.

And from what he knew, his butler loved his soul. Yet now, the notion wasn't as reassuring as he thought. After he had tasted Camilla, he understood pure bloodlust for souls. It was obvious to him he had never loved Camilla, or even been particularly fond of her, not at any point in the past and not now, and he could never see obsessing over any single soul to the point Sebastian did. But he had _wanted_ her, more honestly and fervently in a single instant than he had ever wanted anything in his life prior, in a way that drowned all inhibitions, as well as momentary sanity. The type of passion which, past certain bounds, could plausibly be confused with love. He had never posed questions or concerns about Sebastian's hunger before, and hated himself for doing so now… but as he had thought before, love is almost impossible to earn, even if hunger is ten-a-penny. He had involuntarily given his away to another demon, without a second thought, but that didn't mean he'd be granted a thing in return.

He could tell himself that he was more than a simple cask all he wanted; after all, no one wasted their time on empty cookie jars. But Sebastian never wasted any of his time, did he? He always filched some of the flavor he coveted, even without devouring him, through any means necessary. Touched intimately and distastefully to satisfy the puckish hunger of whom he loved. For once, the unshakable Ciel Phantomhive found something that he could not tolerate.

Though he knew he had a literal eternity, he suddenly felt as if he was running out of time. He needed to discover if this amorous desire was truly for him, and not derived from appetite. And he already had the solution.

"Sebastian. There's somewhere that I want to go."

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry to say this, but this fanfiction will be coming to an end sooner than I anticipated... The plot may wrap up in a few more chapters... I thought I should just inform you. :3**

**THIS IS IMPORTANT AND ALSO IRRELEVANT: Incubus was intended to be completely finished, but due to many opinionated reviews asking for more, I'm considering adding an epliogue just to wrap things up. What do you think?**

**Please review, lovelies! And check out my other fics, if it wouldn't be too much of a bother! :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey! Alright, so I'm well aware that last week, likely due to all of the new settings, I had some difficulty in updating. -_- I had a ghost chapter for a while, irritating as it was... Anyhow, I wanted to apologize for that! It made me curious if that was the cause for so few reviews this time around... Really, I was quite aghast. D; No, I'm only teasing, but I really do love knowing what you guys think of the story! Otherwise it makes me a tad anxious 0.0 Regardless, I'd like to thank Thegraybluekitten, emberstar55, Totawaii, Sprankles, promocat, Calli-fanfic2881, and A Single Fragile Rose for their reviews! This story would likely have imploded without your support, and it makes me ecstatic to hear feedback!**

*****In regard to what I said in the previous chapter, about this ending quickly... I do loathe to say that this chapter is a climax of sorts, but it is NOT the end. There will be at least two more chapters after this one, but the plot wrapped up far more quickly than I anticipated, and much of it is already written... However, I am considering writing separate stories about Ciel and Sebastian as demons. Maybe. I actually have no idea. x) And to Thegraybluekitten- I'm glad you enjoyed last chapter's soul-eating lesson, I hope it does come in handy! ;) xD**

_Chapter 8 Songs: _

_Howl- Florence and the Machine_

_Horror of Our Love- Ludo_

_All Around Me- Flyleaf_

_Kagayaku Sorano Shijimaniwa- Kalafina_

**Disclaimer: Surprise! It's Yana Toboso! ...No, I'm just kidding. I own nothing and I am poor.~**

**Warning: Lap rockets galore launching into uncharted butt space.**

*****This fanfiction follows the assumption that, while Ciel was tortured, he was NOT sexually abused in the duration of his time with the cult. There is little evidence to support either side of the claim, but this fanfiction follows that notion simply because, were that the case, he would likely react differently to any sexual relations with an older man.  
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Chapter 8:

It was the smell of the place that he would never forget. The flowers here emanated a soft, poignant aroma, something becoming of the gentle, unearthly light they emitted, but not so saccharine and cloying as the gaudy blossoms on earth. Certainly, they smelled sweet as flowers do, though overly fresh, and a bit foreboding, carrying the scent of new decay, of rain-glazed leaves on the forest floor, ready to decompose. In fact, the more Ciel thought about it, the flowers smelled like nothing. But it was not the cryptic, abyssal nothing that endured since the start of the ages; it was the nothing that could only come of losing something. And the bittersweet smell could bring tears to one's eyes, incite memories one never knew he had.

"The first place I brought you, when we left together," Sebastian observed; Ciel was cradled against his chest like always, and Sebastian seemed reluctant to forego his hold on him. "Why here, young master? To celebrate, perhaps?"

The boy didn't answer his butler for some time, staring across the vast expanse of the eternal rose garden; they were overlooking the precipice that projected over part of the underworld, a world Sebastian had shown him. It was true; this was the first place his demon had taken him, when they instigated this journey together. He stared at the luminous blossoms, petals unfurling in a glowing chrome, and, as his eyes moved up to study Sebastian's face, he figured it was an appropriate place to end it as well.

When Ciel's eyes left his features to travel across the ethereal landscape once more, Sebastian set him down; Ciel felt his heels press into the moist soil, sinking a bit. A few moments passed as he surveyed his surroundings, watching the flurries of petals accent the ebony sky as they blew away, drifting and fluttering like minute pearls rolling across a black velvet, starless and diamondless. There was no color in this world, save for shades of indigo. A monochrome temple throughout the ages. He pinched the satin petal of a purplish-black rose between his thumb and forefinger, watching as the flower's whitish, glowing mates bobbed in the breeze on either side.

"Sebastian, you've taught me numerous things in our time together… and I suppose I learned my final lesson today. You've taught me how to support myself as a demon. Therefore, I… I am capable of moving on by myself. Alone."

No. This wasn't what Ciel wanted. Even he knew that he was incapable without his butler; he needed him, in more ways than one. In actuality, he despised, with all of his being, the idea of his devoted demon leaving his side, and of him being the one to send him away; but he could not keep his butler next to him in insincerity. Besides, had he not always aspired, at least originally, to become a soul that would be worth Sebastian's indignity? If Sebastian couldn't obtain what he craved, then his goal was nearly facetious. He struggled inwardly with himself, but knew it had to be done. Even if this so-called solution failed him, and he received the very reaction he feared, Sebastian deserved this much... as a kindness.

Sebastian's lips parted in surprise for a second, as if he were unable to decipher what was being said, before pursing into a tight smile.

"My lord... I don't think I understand what you mean."

"Is it really so hard to figure out? I'm… I'm setting you free. You're free from my command. I order you to do whatever _you_ want."

Deafness seemed to overtake them the instant his bold words left his mouth; the words themselves hung heavy and clotted in the stagnant air.

They each remained frozen, as if locked in the eminent time frame of a photograph. And Ciel stood, cotton stuffed into his ears and some invisible fist around his heart, suffocated as he watched his butler. He was waiting. Waiting for Sebastian to bound off like the elusive white rabbit, to strand him in a dream.

But Sebastian didn't move.

In fact, the only motion denoted was a warm, modest smile. Ciel had seen that face before. Dangling haphazardly by his fingertips on a ledge, feeling his gunshot wound leach the life from him, a vast expanse of water and the raging fires of London spread for miles beneath his feet. Sebastian had smiled at him, so softly, so earnestly, and he had smiled back. And then he had died; at least until Sebastian took him through the gate, body strapped flat in a little boat. They had been victors together; Ciel was redeemed of course, and all of London saved from purging, but Sebastian was the real victor, for he got Ciel. Why was Sebastian smiling now? He hadn't won anything.

His butler paced over and knelt before him; with one hand he smoothed a patch of dirt, and with the other, he removed Ciel's hat, before placing it gingerly on the neat ground. Awe was etched onto the boy's countenance.

"Why are you still here?" he inquired, expression enigmatical.

"Because I fear there has been a misunderstanding, my lord," he talked crisply, the way he always did. "I am happiest here, with the young master. I've never wanted to leave your side. No varying degree of freedom would change that."

"That's not true. It was Hannah's trick, but I'm the one who's had you leashed since I became a demon. I trapped you. I know you must have wanted to leave, at least once." There was a bleak, unexplainable desperation in his tone.

"Not the case, young master," Sebastian's smile never vacillated, but he had bowed his head slightly, in order to unbutton Ciel's boots easier. "I was furious and a bit forlorn when you changed, naturally, after desiring your soul for so long, and I was a bit solemn for you as well. I did not expect life as a demon to suit you," he paused to release a breathy chuckle. "Still trying to protect you, I suppose. But even afterwards, even when I had been cheated from what I then considered my happiness, I never could have just left you. You belong to me, young master. You give me a happiness that far exceeds my previous ideas."

The earl looked perplexed, searching Sebastian's crimson gaze for some trace of impurity, but found none.

"Tch," he frowned, jaw clenched; if Sebastian peered closely enough, he could have sworn the boy's chin was quivering. "There's no point in staying with me if you can't have my soul, and you know as well as I do that you'll never have it. If that pathetic belief is really the only reason you're sticking around, then I don't want you with me."

Sebastian knew Ciel all too well. He could tell what the boy was really concerned about just by reading into the undertone of his words. With a gentle stroke, Sebastian shrugged the dark overcoat from Ciel's shoulders. "Alas, it seems that I haven't taught you everything, my lord. There is something that you'll need to know about demons."

Delicately, he slipped the silken ribbon tie from its knot and pulled it from the boy's throat; the motion was so tender that Ciel didn't even notice. "Did you know, my lord, that when you gave me up for torture, Angela Blanc came to visit me in my chambers?" Sebastian began, when Ciel remained silent; at the mention of Angela, the boy bristled. "I'm sure you are well aware of the many offers I received for an alliance with the Angel of Massacre. However, I'm not sure you know what it offered to me. Angela promised me any souls I could desire, in quantity and quality, from her cleansing fire, if I would sacrifice you. Yet, out of every soul in the world, no matter what I would have to endure, I would not relinquish you."

He leaned closer to Ciel, penetrating his eyes with a fierce gaze. "It seems that you overthink things, young master, to the point that you overlook the obvious. The soul of a person is the person itself. I love your soul, my lord, so I love you."

It took a moment for what Sebastian said to register in his mind, the gears in his head whirring slowly. However, once he realized what Sebastian had just confessed to, it walloped into him with raw intensity. His mouth opened ever so slightly and he gaped, transfixed with shock. He recalled his realization only a couple of days before; while nearly impossible to procure, the love of a demon was absolute, and apparently, it was interchangeable as well. By enforcing that Sebastian be "free", he had gained what he wanted, in knowledge alone. Checkmate for Ciel Phantomhive, once again and forevermore.

In light of so many realizations, Ciel was bewildered.

He loved Sebastian as well, and wished that he could declare it unabashedly, that he could vocally return the demon's bold admittance as requited, leaving not a scant doubt in his mind. But he could not. The Earl of Phantomhive was incapable of confessing, under his own pride, which forbade admittance to trivialities like love, and under some overwhelming, self-encompassing mixture of shock and relief.

"I…" Ciel started, voice unsteady, but would choke on his own words and remain still, glassy-eyed and stammering. Sebastian smirked, in that omniscient way he always did; he could easily feel the boy's apex in emotion, and see how he struggled. That beautifully tragic pride of his, and that refusal to show weakness; Sebastian could never get enough of it.

"I love you, my lord," he breathed softly again, just to extinguish any of his master's doubts, and it came naturally, casually. The thought was so nonchalant that he seemed to realize it for himself in that moment. No, it was more like an obvious recognition. Something like, yes, of course you love him, you always have, and that's how things are. Not worth questioning, and undeniable, even as it encroached his entire being.

The boy felt Sebastian's breath, irregularly shaky, wash over his lips in their proximity. Suddenly, a cool rush of air prickled at the bare skin of the boy's back, leaving a trail of fresh goose bumps in its wake.

"Hey!" Ciel barked in surprise, though his tone had lost some of its bitter sting. Instinctively, he clamped his arms to his sides, pinning his sleeves at the elbow; Sebastian had eased his shirt half-off his body, and Ciel had only caught it by the time his shirt had been lowered to the small of his back. For the first time, he discerned that Sebastian had been insouciantly undressing him in the middle of the garden for some time; the motions all felt so habitual that he hardly noticed it. Now, he was standing in only his shorts, with his ivory shirt hanging off of him and rippling in the breeze.

"I suppose you can keep that on, if you'd like," Sebastian offered with a mild smile, before his finger slipped the button on Ciel's trousers.

"What on earth are you—?"

"I'm so very sorry, my lord," he murmured, moving forwards to envelop Ciel's lips with his own. He bit down softly on Ciel's bottom lip and tugged lightly before withdrawing, though he barely lifted his mouth from the boy's. "I cannot disobey your orders."

_What in hell is he talking about?_

A gloved hand brushed over the fabric of his pants, groping lightly in the front, and Ciel felt himself stiffening almost instantly, his gasp stifled as Sebastian's tongue slipped inside of his mouth. The earl was startled when he felt that tongue push aggressively past his lips, caressing the insides of his mouth and lapping against his own tongue, driven by an untamable vigor. However, he swiftly melted into his butler's consistent warmth, clumsily yet obstinately kissing him back. Teeth scraping against tongues, gentle nips to each other's lips, the warmth of their shared breath. Ciel was too enraptured by the moment itself to be shocked by the reality of it; at long last, Sebastian had finally, in honesty, kissed him, and in a way, it almost seemed to seal the truth into the demon's confession, leaving Ciel more breathless and reeling than he had been in the first place.

Sebastian broke away from the kiss to brush his lips vigorously across Ciel's jaw in a trail of kisses, resting at his ear, and pressed their bodies together in an embrace. Ciel would never forget how tightly Sebastian had twined his arms about him, as if he could never be close enough to his master, as if the flimsy limits of skin itself would never be enough. As if there was nothing more precious in the world sustaining him. Sebastian nipped his earlobe, his tongue darting out to roll over the flesh, sending peculiar shivers down Ciel's spine that seemed to throb in his groin. These thrills only increased when he realized he could feel Sebastian's member through his pants as well, hot and straining against fabric as it pressed to Ciel's thigh.

Sebastian's voice lowered to a near husky whisper. "You ordered me to do whatever I want."

* * *

Teeth gently bit at the tender, milk-white flesh at the inside of Ciel's thigh, sending jolts of pleasure trickling down his spine, but that was not the reason he flinched. As Sebastian's lips slowly worked their way up his body, pressing gossamer-light kisses along his stomach and chest, he heard the distinct sound, at long last, of fabric rustling, of pants being unbuttoned and shuffled slightly below hips. All of the foreplay and preparation up until this point were naught to Ciel, once he realized how eager he actually was for something he'd never experienced, but at the same time, he found himself a bit anxious and reluctant to let them go.

Ciel was not afraid. Though he knew it would likely hurt, despite how Sebastian tried to reassure him it wouldn't, physical pain had no influence over his fear, after enduring what he had in his life. In addition, and more prominently, he trusted Sebastian, more than he had any other being he'd ever encountered. This being said, he couldn't compensate for the strange nervous thrill he felt for this situation in general, at the prospect of losing his purely-theoretical innocence. It was not worry so much as... anticipation. Some excitement that was terrifying and vulnerable, yet at the same time invigorating, in a way that made him feel _alive_.

So, when he felt Sebastian's erection, inches from his own bare skin but still radiating heat between his barely-parted thighs, he couldn't help the way his breathing hitched, in a shaky gasp, or how his heartbeat rapidly quickened, to the point he could feel his ribcage rattling. He gazed upwards into that starless, inky sky as Sebastian withdrew his lips from his chest, laying in wait as the older demon slid the lubricant across his own shaft, trying desperately to convince himself not to watch.

Shamefully curious as it was, he _did_ want to ogle his butler, but denied himself the view, for decency's sake. No— was there even a purpose in modesty, when he knew exactly what Sebastian would be doing in a matter of seconds? Regardless of his inner bickering, his eyes snapped downwards for an instant, the temptation too much to resist; though he whipped his gaze back upwards just as quickly, the glimpse he received was more than enough, and he blushed a horribly guilty shade of carmine, mortified even as he felt his own member jolt and then stiffen further. Before he could even begin to ponder it, eyelids crinkling tightly shut, he felt it; the tip of Sebastian's erection, reddened with desperation, pressing against his entrance.

As soon as he felt that searing heat flush against him, his legs opened, quivering with pure anticipation. He froze, heart palpitating wildly in his chest, already coming undone in his state of nervousness; the hardness, the pulsing of the flesh pressed against his own was more than enough to shatter his composure. Sebastian refrained from entering, slipping the head of his penis across Ciel's entrance, and consequently smearing about the lubricant already on both of them. The slippery, almost teasing sensation, coupled with the pre-climax wetness already seeping from Sebastian's tip, as well as the way he would always tauntingly brush by but never press into that ring of muscle, was too much. Ciel was now heaving for breath, hyperventilating even, every fiber of his being tense and trembling each time Sebastian slid against him. It was frightening, certainly, but that alone didn't prevent him from desiring more; involuntarily, he found himself weakly shoving his hips back against his demon, his breath quickening with every second that they were tighter against one another. Impatient, much to Sebastian's surprise. The boy was shaking, gasping as he inhaled sharply, overcome with the swelling of warmth in gut, with the tingling deep in his groin that seemed to branch across the surface of his skin. The keenness in that moment was too much on its own; the terse tension of the inevitable moment _before_, with nothing to feel but the lightest but most significant of touches and one's own eagerness.

Still aligned, Sebastian leaned forwards so that his face hovered above Ciel's, obscuring the ominous view of the night sky with his familiar facial features. He met Ciel's azure and violet eyes, wearing an expression that seemed both mildly amused and somewhat concerned. Ciel's hands found their way to Sebastian's broad shoulders, their grip clammy and quaking as he tried to grapple onto the fabric. The young earl only caught those crimson eyes for an instant as he felt hands latch onto his hips and raise them slightly, still struggling to breathe in his frantic state, before Sebastian moved in to kiss him. Prior, he had been choking for air, breathing so swiftly and erratically that he would likely have had an asthma attack were he still mortal; but the instant those alabaster lips sealed his shut, he stopped breathing altogether.

Tentatively, he complied began to relax, riled muscles uncoiling as he permitted his butler's contagious serenity to engulf him, until he was nearly limp. Nevertheless, the fretting in his eyes betrayed him just as easily as his tight chest did, since he was still yet to take a breath; with a patient smile, Sebastian moved his head to the side, and smoothly whispered a single word into his ear, before harshly biting down on the lobe.

_Breathe._

Ciel sucked in a sharp gasp at the painful distraction, and Sebastian pushed inside.

* * *

_Perhaps he isn't such a liar after all, _Ciel admitted to himself, with a bitter amount of trepidation, in the one moment of lucid thought he was allowed. However, his accurate, sharp-minded thought was short-lived as Sebastian, without ever hindering his urgent pace, leaned into a different angle and knowingly pummeled into Ciel's sensitive prostate, drawing out a throaty moan that silenced his internal thoughts.

_"Liar," Ciel had growled out through gritted teeth, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. "You said it wouldn't hurt."_

_ Sebastian wore a sly smile as he rolled his hips ever so slightly, pushing himself in further. "And it won't hurt, in a moment or two."_

At first, the pain _had _been unbearable, to the point that it was nearly nauseating, despite having been prepared beforehand, and regardless of the use of lubricant; Sebastian had chosen to use one Ciel's slick bath oils, even though he couldn't convince Ciel that it was mere coincidence that he happened to have it inside of his jacket. Nevertheless, his butler's trusted word held true, and moments later, even at a gentle pace, he was gasping and sweating beneath Sebastian as that tender spot inside of him was expertly rubbed into, and wondering how he had ever let himself be _deprived _of the sensation.

Now, the rigorous pace at which Sebastian rocked into him was nothing short of brutal, hips bucking rapidly; Ciel couldn't help gaping at the smooth, slippery sensation of Sebastian sliding into him, radiating a pulsing heat that seemed to swell with the friction. He could recall that wet, stretching feeling from before, but it was encroachingly blissful now as he was driven into deeply, with such sheer intensity he wondered how he didn't split in two. It was breathless, exhilarating. And every time that spot inside of him was so much as grazed, he couldn't fight the warmth pooling in the pit of his stomach, or the way his hips twitched. Now, with his butler adroitly grinding into it, he was trembling to suppress what he knew was coming.

A heavy aroma mesmerized him, a scent concocted of sweat and sex and Sebastian, sometimes punctuated by the smell of flowers, and it pulled him under like a heat-drugged haze. He felt the tension in his abdomen swell as his grip on Sebastian tightened, his thick panting and brusque cries only silenced by sloppy kisses. As he thrashed in ecstasy, Ciel knew he was close, and arched his body wantonly into Sebastian's pounding; willingly submitting and surrendering his pride, just for the relief of release. However, Sebastian would have none of it.

The second he heard that impending-orgasm sound Ciel made, which he had grown a bit accustomed to, the instant he felt the boy's body clenching around him, he stilled his thrusting for a moment, sides heaving with breath, before resuming far more slowly at a different angle, knowing the effect. Ciel tossed his head back, both with frustration and raw feeling of being so tauntingly ravaged, and it collided hard with the packed dirt, his aggressive groan tapering off into a whimper. He could have easily finished himself off, but he was unwilling to surrender his clawing grip on Sebastian's back. His entire frame was too frail and weak from wavering so close to the edge again and again, and from the intensity in that crimson gaze that he couldn't bring himself to hold. The type of look that seemed to excavate and divulge every secret in his being, all with a self-satisfied smirk.

Shuddering, Ciel pinched his eyes shut as he descended again in disappointment, slowly becoming aware of the spinning world around him. Simultaneously, he sensed the trickling of beads of perspiration running down his thighs and reared back, an icy caress on his hot flushed skin, magnified by the cold breeze; however, it couldn't chill him much, not with Sebastian's heated body weighing down on him. He smelled the scent of the earth, and felt a hand knot and thread its fingers through his rumpled hair. Though he tried to duck his chin to his chest, hoping to pull himself out of sight, he could still feel quick bursts of frantic breath against his neck, or cheek, or wherever Sebastian's head happened to be. He distinguished tiny, negligible touches as well; the tip of a tongue flicking against his lips, a teasing hand stroking over his chest, plucking and pinching softly at his nipples, eliciting tingles across the rosy skin. And, as he felt his own pulsating erection press feverishly against his stomach, it became apparent to him that Sebastian was trying to stave off his inevitable end. But why? He must know Ciel had comparatively short stamina; another one of his trifling ego boosts, perhaps?

A trail of gentle kisses across the underside of his jaw, and he involuntarily rolled his hips into Sebastian's motion again, feeling a shiver seize his frame once more as his shaft twitched. He wondered briefly if he shouldn't be more bothered by the fact that they were both men. However, the subject hadn't ever concerned him before. A fierce blush rose to his cheeks when he realized how _little _it bothered him, and he worried that, despite having a fiancé, he'd been looking at his butler this way for longer than he'd let on.

Regardless, wracked by pleasure as he was, these fuzzy, unashamed thoughts faded, and Ciel had already distracted himself with the faint sound of flesh slapping against flesh. However, it was too muffled for his taste, as he suddenly discerned that Sebastian was still fully-clothed, and he sought to change that.

Discarding all of the provincial Victorian ideals of modesty in one gesture, he grappled onto Sebastian's jacket and shirt and tore them both in half, baring his pale, well-muscled abdomen and easing the ripped fabric off of his broad shoulders; after all, he figured modesty was down the drain the moment Sebastian penetrated him. Smiling in approval, Sebastian shrugged off the tattered remnants of his clothing, surprised when Ciel relinquished his grasp on his back to move his hands across his torso. His fingertips seemed to drink in the feel of his glistening skin, eyes wide with awe as he panted. Ciel tentatively traced the muscled contours and crevices of his body, outlined in softly-glowing crescents of silver light. Beautiful; that's what he was. Ciel could never recall seeing his butler so plainly before. Sebastian had always been the only one to see Ciel in any vulnerability; it only seemed fitting that Ciel should be the one to expose him as well.

With the cool air licking across his naked skin, Sebastian sped up with a new vigor, claiming Ciel's mouth in another kiss. He swept his tongue across the boy's lips before withdrawing to nip at the boy's tongue, sucking his lips with his own; there was a discreet fashion of dominance in the way he cupped his jaw to kiss him deeply, in the way he seemed to swallow up Ciel's soft moans as he was rammed into. With the heat coiling in his stomach again, his hips gyrating and flexing on their own, there was only so much the squirming boy could take before he broke off the kiss, heaving for air. His slender arms had again snaked up Sebastian's sides, and he held onto him for dear life, relishing in the feeling of his bare skin.

_My master is magnificent, _was the only thought circling through Sebastian's mind. _He is riveting. _Sebastian had seen many a spectacle in his eternal life, but none so overwhelming as this. Perhaps it was simply the earl himself who was so majestic, in his pure and unsullied will, in the supreme influence he held over the most prominent of supernatural creatures; even so, the night did special wonders for him, Sebastian swore, transfixed with the sweaty, white-glitter body beneath him. Sebastian had seen humans and demons, but Ciel was an entirely new creature in this light; one sculpted of alabaster and marble and stone, carved trim and intricate by a craftsman of exceptional skill. A sculpture of art. In the grey-blue light, the only hues which besmirched the colorless world were the pink in his cheeks, the liveliest accent of all, and the purplish marks marring his fragile skin, sealed by Sebastian's mouth.

Sebastian had taken humans many times before without so much as breathing heavily, much less breaking a sweat from exertion; but Ciel was different. Something about the boy was so vital, so vivacious, that he couldn't help but cling to him, as if nothing but the boy's racing heartbeat preserved him, as if the boy would evade him and Sebastian himself would dissipate. He found that he was the one mortally struggling for breath, suffocated by the reigns of passions.

In their current position, with Ciel's hips hoisted up onto Sebastian's thighs with his back on the ground, Ciel's unblemished white shirt was fanned out beneath him, as if in a picturesque vignette, forming frail, papery wings. Delicate, like a butterfly's, and so breakable. He knew he must continue to be gentle, for his sake, despite the restraint it took. He would be everything that Ciel needed.

However, it took only moments more for that restraint to shatter. Ciel's desperation grew as he ground his body into Sebastian's for reprieve, the wet tip of his erection rubbing against Sebastian's stomach. It was the scent of his soul, leaking from his body and rushing, buzzing in his veins, as well as those little nails sharply digging into his back, that did him in.

Instantly, Sebastian's hips were a blur as he thrust frantically into Ciel, the boy's entire body jerking violently with the movement. And, enticed by the adrenaline thrumming in his blood, he bit him between the neck and shoulder, through the fabric of his shirt. Though the pain hardly served to conflict the pleasure, Ciel still cried out in shock from the throbbing sting of the bite. A beautiful crimson rose bloomed from the location of Sebastian's mouth, the rouge blossom spreading across the white fabric in unfurling red petals. Though savoring the invigorating taste of his blood, Sebastian composed his restraint as soon as he realized what he had done. With a new sense of restriction, he lapped over the wound as soon as he saw how Ciel gnashed his teeth and flared his nostrils. Apologetically, he brushed his lips over Ciel's collarbone, which he realized he had narrowly avoided breaking, before dipping his tongue into the hollow of his throat and licking languidly across his chest, capturing beads of salty sweat. However, as the older demon moved to peck at his cheeks and jaw, he noticed that Ciel's expression was hardly injured. Those nails then raked down his back, peeling away skin and leaving vivid red scratches, almost in a vengeful determination. The butler's hips jerked erratically and his breathing hitched in pleasurable response, before wrapping his arms around the boy and pulling him up.

It wasn't until Ciel was vertical, in a riding position but leaning all of his weight onto his demon, that he noticed something intriguing. Without getting a speck of dirt on either of them, of course, his butler had been going at it with such power that he had literally rutted a hole into the ground. Shallow, yes, but present; a grave for the both of them.

Lovingly, Sebastian tousled Ciel's fine dark teal hair, noticing how it was knotted with dirt and flower petals, before clutching his head to him and embracing him tightly. Tentatively, he ran his hands down Ciel's sides to clutch at his hips, thrusting to finish the both of them off. Ciel attempted to match his thrusts, grinding in a rather amateur attempt; even though he hadn't an idea what he was doing, he was pleased that it still excited Sebastian. Nevertheless, Sebastian's hands guided him anyways, lifting him as easily as if he were a doll. With a groan, Ciel's head fell back limp, before he tilted it forwards to land on Sebastian's chest with a weak thump. Even in his adrenalized exhaustion, he kept bouncing quickly, noting the clear fluid that dripped onto his stomach each time his erection slapped against it; it was impossible to hold back now.

As the first sensations rippled through his body, tightened legs lurching and mouth dry, he realized something. In that instant, Sebastian was the only thing in his mind, and this thought twisted and twined its roots into his thoughts, until he was lost in him. The demon he had fallen in love with was inside of him, and all around him, to the point that he was immersed, suspended in him. And that was all that had ever mattered.

With a few breathy grunts that quickly evolved into a loud moan, Ciel came, shuddering and gasping as searing relief coursed hot through his body; the fire in his gut erupted, flames licking through his quivering abdomen and down his thighs, the pearly white egress spattering across Sebastian's chest.

Not too long afterwards, though feeling positively spent, he focused in on a warm hand caressing his cheek, and then lifting his head. The demon boy slowly peeled his eyes open, Sebastian's palms wrapped around either side of his head, and met his butler's smoldering gaze. Sebastian grew breathless upon staring into those luminous magenta eyes; their hue was diluted by the flowers' bluish light, but his demon's insignia glowed more vibrantly than ever, shining with impassioned fulfillment. He gently grazed his thumb's over Ciel's pink cheeks and soft lips, engrossed in that moment with nothing but him.

Despite the earl's tiredness, the euphoria had not diminished, as the boy still clamped tightly onto his partner, and on an impatient impulse, he clasped the back of Sebastian's neck, dragging him down for a surprising kiss. As their mouths meshed together, Sebastian felt his own end approaching, as a single bead of sweat rolled over his temple, glinting like crystal.

Ciel was now shaking, trembling as Sebastian continued to pound into his now-hypersensitive body, to the point that it was oddly excruciating. Upon severing the kiss, Sebastian began to murmur something, lowering his head against the taut cords of Ciel's strained neck. It wasn't until he let his mouth hover above Ciel's ear, tickling it with his breath, that the boy heard what he said. He missed much of it in his pleasure-induced haze, but caught the ending definitively.

With a low, guttural groan, the type of noise Ciel never suspected that anyone could get out of his butler, he roughly pushed all the way in and flinched; adhering to the boy in a way that was almost susceptible. For a second, mild dismay washed over Ciel as he wondered if he shouldn't have asked him to pull out. However, he somewhat enjoyed the warmth filling him, and hardly cared about being marked with a demon's essence. Sebastian's hips bucked a final time, and Ciel's eyelids snapped open; he suddenly realized exactly what Sebastian had whispered in his ear before he came.

He had told him once more that he loved him, but that was hardly the important part. For the first time, he had called his master "Ciel".

The boy grew slack-jawed in astonishment, sucking in a breath as if to say something… but what would he say to that? He knew he ought to reprimand him; but another part of him was in idyllic awe from hearing his own name on his butler's lips, directed at him. The type of awe that fluttered anxiously in the pit of his stomach. Before he could ponder it any longer, he felt lips tenderly press to his own, and he felt himself lowered back to the earth, under a flurry of light pecks.

He felt Sebastian pull out, ignoring the lewd sound that resounded. It left him with some lingering emptiness, but it was purely physical.

One at last with his infallible demon, he couldn't explain the bliss flitting through him. And just like that, Ciel was startled to recognize that, in a way that surpassed any satisfaction he could seek through vengeance and exceeded the faded memories of his childhood, he was honestly happy. A genuine smile spread across his features, the likes of which hadn't graced his boyish face in years, and he laughed, delighted as he intertwined his arms around his demon's neck.

Swiftly, his laughter ebbed off into labored breathing, and he fell asleep in Sebastian's embrace.

* * *

**A/N: I just thought I'd have you know that while I was writing the sex scene, the song** _Ancient Voices Australia _**by Russ Landau came onto my iPod... it made for a rather tribal experience, to say the least. xD If you feel inclined to read it listening to that, I assure you, you will in no way be disappointed. x)**

**ALSO: There WILL be an epilogue to **_Incubus_**! I'm not sure when it'll be up, but it's coming! ^-^ If you haven't checked it out, you should!**

**Thankyou for reading! Please review and share, kittens! I love you all, and I'll see you next Sunday!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Alas, I've returned!~ All of my thanks and eternal gratitude to emberstar55, Thegraybluekitten, Totawaii, Nana Three Hundred, Isthisparadise, gratsufangirl138, promocat, 4everKing, Calli-fanfic2881, hello203, and garryxmrchairfan for their amazing reviews! You are my reason for writing. Seriously, I'm beside myself with your praise. I love you all.**

_Chapter 9 Songs:_

_Closer- In This Moment_

_Breath of Life- Florence and the Machine_

_Flowers For A Ghost- Thriving Ivory_

**Disclaimer: I was counting all of the dollars I ever made from Kuroshitsuji the other day, but it turns out that I don't have any. Hell, I don't even own it. I own a cactus though, and that's all that matters.**

**Warning: Voracious appetite for the booty. Implied oral sex... and probably implied anal sex... we can make several implications here.**

* * *

Ciel recalled falling asleep in a bed of dirt, so he was understandably puzzled when he opened his eyes to see a lavishly embroidered canopy above his head. With a start, he traced his little fingers across the comforter wrapped around him, which was spun from a rich, opulent golden thread. Swiveling his head away from the lofty overhang, he caught sight of an ornately-carved bedpost at his side, and couldn't help the qualm of panic that bolted through him at the unfamiliarity.

"Sebastian," he croaked softly, turning his head again, and was relieved to see his butler standing diligent at his bedside. With another cursory glance to their extravagant yet unusual surroundings, he inquired, "Where are we?"

"Another sanctuary to demons, my lord," Sebastian informed him. "However, this one is considerably less well-known… Likely because it doesn't breach the human world, and is in remarkable proximity to hell itself."

The earl looked contemplative. It was now clear to him what had been awry from the start; how, despite layers upon layers of heavy golden bed sheets, he felt weightless, as if he'd been floating in midair. How, whenever he turned his head, the beautiful décor of the room always remained in his sights, but seemed to dematerialize in his peripheral vision, shrouded by mist or crumbling with decay. How, although the glossy windows reflected images of Sebastian and him like mirrors, they couldn't completely mask the dull blackish red sky outside, evidence of the not-too-distant fires of hell. Pinholes in the illusion. The details of this place were just about as real as Sebastian's faux human form, and now his own as well. A mockery and façade of mundane cheerfulness, but it didn't bother Ciel at all.

"Of course, I'm lucky that it was empty upon our arrival," Sebastian informed him thoughtfully, before rubbing his temple with two fingers. "You were positively reeking of your soul last night, my lord. It vexes me to think of the incidental genocide I would need to commit on my own kind just to keep them off of you."

Ciel was amused by this, but his expression didn't portray much more than a soft but perturbed smirk; at least until he sat up, and a jolt of pain slashed through his lower back, aching in his rear.

"Sore, my lord?" Sebastian asked with a concerned and benevolent intonation, but Ciel caught onto the remnants of that cunning smile he always wore. "I could prepare you a bath."

The demon boy was well aware that little could be accomplished with glaring, so he simply shrugged off the teasing and nodded. Pondering over what had happened last night, he was more perplexed than he should've been by his butler's formal nonchalance. Had he expected things to be different now? Sebastian was bound eternally as a servant; the dynamics of that relationship could not change, at least aesthetically, and he knew it. However, though Ciel wasn't sure what to expect after the lascivious occurences, he certainly didn't plan on reverting to their previous arrangements. Nonetheless, as he was entirely lost on what to do, he waited observantly for his favorite pawn's next move.

Waxen candlelight was the only source brightening the room, and in addition to the apricot warmth it spilled onto the walls, it also cast a glow over Sebastian's countenance; the slivers of light on his face were soft like butter and the honeyed color of a harvest moon, strangely welcoming.

When he extended a hand to help Ciel out of bed, Ciel hesitantly took it, swinging his frail legs over the edge of the mattress and hopping out. As soon as Sebastian turned around, Ciel curiously slipped his hand beneath the collar of his nightshirt. He ran his hand from his neck to his shoulder, grazing his fingertips across the row of puckered pink tooth marks, still present after the wound was long gone. He bit his lip and crossed his arms, hearing water slosh from the faucet in the other room.

Suddenly, Ciel froze in fear, feeling something dribble down the backs of his still-bared thighs. It took only a moment for him to dab at the back of his legs, gathering the sticky fluid onto his fingertips, before he realized with horror what he'd shaken loose.

"Dammit!" he hissed, his entire face flushing to a flustered red. Fretting, he hurriedly whipped his head around, looking for something he could clean himself up with before Sebastian took notice. Those sheets weren't actually real, right? So it was no problem if they were soiled with semen. With a quick glance over his shoulder, he darted to the bed; he had just gathered the material in his hands before he heard a soft sigh directly behind him.

"Really, my lord, you can make such a mess when left to your own devices," Sebastian breathed, leaning down closer to the boy and trailing his knuckles down his spine.

A shiver seized Ciel, but his irate response to the comment overcame it. "This is all _your_ fault!" he protested, losing all traces of contemplative bashfulness in his anger. Enraged with embarrassment, he couldn't help wishing halfheartedly that the incompetent demon had taken his soul ages ago, just so that he wouldn't have to suffer _this_ indignity.

When Sebastian's only reply was to kneel behind him and lift his nightshirt, Ciel turned to release a cry of dissent, but was silenced by a temperate "hush", before a pair of sturdy hands rotated his hips back so that he was facing the bed.

"Ow! Sebastian!" he admonished when the demon crossed his arms behind his back, holding them there firmly with one hand, and then pushed him so that he was bent over the edge of the bed. However, he snapped his mouth shut when he felt a tongue snake its way up the inside of his thigh, licking up the wet mess, and his cheeks bloomed with a furious scarlet hue.

Struggling to lift his head high enough to peer over his raised shoulder, he shot Sebastian a glare that seemed to read "don't you dare". Nevertheless, it was clear the demon was ignoring him when he felt a hand spread his arse for easier access, and felt that long tongue prod at his entrance before pressing past the ring of muscles, slick against his insides.

"Stop! That's… ah… that's revolting!" he grunted, helpless to escape Sebastian's grasp. He began wriggling, and although there was the occasional thwack when he succeeded in landing a kick to Sebastian's side, there was little he could do.

Contrarily, the longer Sebastian's smooth tongue swept across his insides, supposedly cleaning him, the weaker Ciel's legs became, until he found that he was quaking and leaning the entirety of his weight on the bed.

"Nonsense. Nothing about my master is revolting in the slightest," Sebastian commented afterwards, receiving only a faint groan as a rejoinder when he plunged his tongue back in. After only a moment or two of thrusting his tongue deeply enough to lick at the boy's sensitive spot, he retracted completely, satisfied with the panting state of the boy before him.

"I hope you don't honestly expect me to kiss you after that," Ciel muttered out in a breath, wrinkling his nose.

"Actually, my lord, I didn't have many expectations of you kissing me again at all," Sebastian's expression lit up with contentment. "I was aware that you enjoyed yourself, but I was not sure my attitude towards the subject was fully requited. It pleases me immensely to know that kissing me has been on your mind."

Ciel groaned in defeat and looked away, scowling even as he was lifted up and carried to the bathtub.

He offered no resistance in being lifted, due to the fact that walking actually was quite painful, but he was still a bit reluctant to relax entirely in his demon's embrace, to submit to that warmth he'd been so spoiled with last night. The wary and chilled stiffness in his muscles didn't go unnoticed by the elder, whose smirk drooped ever so slightly, but it didn't do much more than pique his interest; he knew Ciel well enough to know that his beloved master would speak when he was ready, even if the behavior was somewhat unnerving.

Regardless, as Ciel's dress shirt was removed as routinely as possible and he was settled into the tub, he didn't know what to say. What was there to say, after something like that? Even as the warm and fragrant water, infused with aromatic oils, tenderly coaxed and soothed every one of his muscles into relaxing, the nagging qualms and queries seemed to accumulate in his mind, coiling so tightly that his mental state was perfectly contrary to his physical. Though unable to articulate a sound, he was overwhelmed with questions he was unsure if he'd even dare to ask. Should he trust every one of Sebastian's confessions from last night simply because the man could not lie? And even then, would the words hold true until morning? He knew, within all reason, that it _must_ be the case, that it was only logically sensible, but he could find no tangible guarantee. Were they together now? Did demons even mate for life? Had Sebastian found him unsatisfactory?

_No, _Ciel snorted bitterly. _That's definitely not it. _Alright, so perhaps Ciel had spoken too soon when he stated that _everything _about their relationship was the same as it had been before. Though the action wasn't technically disobedient, since he had never ordered Sebastian to stop, he knew that previously his butler would never have dared to attempt something as tenacious as he had moments ago. That alone defied his servant's etiquette, and proved that, if anything, Ciel had still overtaken his lust; a grand achievement, but not quite what Ciel had been aiming for.

_Honestly, how pathetic, _the boy scolded himself sharply. _He said he loved you, didn't he? That should be more than enough._

"Young master?" Sebastian inquired. sounding almost nervous. The astounding possibility in itself that the composed and undefeated demon could be afraid was enough to throttle Ciel from his self-pitying rumination, and he whipped his head upwards, puzzled to see how close Sebastian's face hovered to his own. It became apparent to him that Sebastian had been asking him about something for quite some time, but he'd been too lost in his jaded thoughts to hear. A porcealin-white hand pressed to his cheek, dark nails contrasting starkly against his own pale flesh, in a habitual way, as if he was doing something so domestic as checking him for a fever.

"Is something wrong, my lord?"

Ciel blatantly ignored the inquiry, as well as the unorthodox tone it was delivered in, as he finally met Sebastian's gaze.

And that was where he saw it.

Those deep crimson eyes, smoldering in the candlelight and rich as a red wine, were latched onto his, and within them, he witnessed the last expression he was expecting. The look, while infatuated, hardly reflected the lasciviousness or lusty fascination that his demonic disposition seemed to promote; in fact, he had seen the very glance in those usually sultry and sanguine orbs hundreds of times before.

It was vaguely reminiscent of, though his old and musty memories were a bit hazy, the look he used to see in his doting parents' eyes, in Elizabeth's eyes, in the other servants' eyes, in the stare of anyone who had ever benevolently and wholeheartedly adored and yearned to care for him in his entire life. And simultaneously, it was absolutely incomparable to any of these. No, this glance had so much more selfless devotion and unrestrained fervor, so much raw and attentive passion that it would be a crime to correlate that emotion with the others, as heartfelt as they may be. And, as vulgarly ironic as the idea was, he knew what it reminded him most of. Religion.

That reckless abandon in which the soul craves to throw all he is at the feet of the one thing keeping him alive, at the being whom he holds responsible for all guileless wonders that have come to him. The blind faith and trust needed to follow another creature's desires to the pits of hell and back. A fetish, an answer, an obsession. Tainted as he knew the comparison was, he had seen this exact feeling glinting in the eyes of the religious, and even though the look was far more mild in Sebastian's affectionate scrutiny, there was nothing else on this earth that he could relate it to.

Instantly, the earl detested himself for every questioning Sebastian's love, for even making the demon worry over the smallest of inconveniences.

"Yes," Ciel murmured, the word slipping like silk from his marble lips before he could even process what he had said. Sebastian had asked if anything was wrong. Completely perpendicular to what he'd just said, he wanted to reassure him, refute his frightened assumptions. Become closer to him, and show him how far from 'wrong' things were, in the only way he knew how to do so without forsaking his pride. So, despite his answer, he did.

Clutching onto the front of his jacket and wielding him like a plaything, the boy jerked Sebastian, tugging him into the bathtub with him. Although Sebastian's strength far surpassed Ciel's, and the yank in reality likely could do little besides make him stumble, he fell for Ciel anyways, willingly collapsing clumsily into the water just as the boy wanted. The warm water sloshed about haphazardly as he positioned his large frame in the basin, saturating his finely-tailored uniform and drenching him to the bone, but he wasn't bothered a bit. Those heterochromic eyes sparked, appeased as he was with Sebastian's performance and completely bewildered with the sight facing him. The most suave and collected creature he had ever met, reigning fearlessly with immortality; and here he was, disheveled and sopping wet, his only nightmare of upsetting a young boy. There were not words for how Ciel loved him.

Ciel's eyelids fluttered shut when Sebastian moved in cautiously slow, before capturing his mouth in a gentle kiss. The innocent yet indulgent way in which his lips pressed against and enveloped his own was almost torturously slow, but it seemed to shatter every doubt either of them had, in a way that an urgent and frenzied liplock never could. Sebastian was also the first to pull away, assessing his master and regarding him with those _eyes._

The eyes that would reveal to Ciel all of the carnage and peril and truth that Sebastian would never hide from him. The eyes that slid over his nude form almost reproachfully, as if they envied every glistening bead of water that adhered to his skin, every droplet with the privelege of caressing that coveted flesh. As if he was jealous of the very air Ciel breathed, of the unneeded oxygen constantly filling the chambers of his chest and providing him with ever-decadent life.

Ciel leaned in for another soft, patient kiss. Because now, he realized that he had the time to be steadfast, to be patient. Time was of essence to humanity and nothing to demons. Sebastian would answer every question he had for centuries to come, and tell him stories of centuries before, for as long as he needed.

As the boy hastily shed his butler's garments, he boldly trailed his wet lips from Sebasian's mouth over the hollow of his throat, vigorously brushing kisses across the skin as he inched lower down Sebastian's chest, averting his eyes from the mild surprise on Sebastian's face. Despite the anxious fluttering in his ribcage, he continued lower, raspy breaths washing over Sebastian's bared naval. The elder demon hesitantly stood on his knees and lifted his hips out of the water in compliance, despite his confused countenance. Nimble fingers fumbled with the hem of his pants as they were unbuttoned and shoved downwards. Another soft kiss to his lower abdomen, and Sebastian captured Ciel's smaller hand between his fingers, smoothing his thumb across his palm, even though it did nothing to soothe the boy's rapid pulse. Ciel pressed his lowered forehead to Sebastian's stomach and inhaled his familiar musky scent, chest heaving, his nose brushing against the trail of fine, dark hairs that transcended past his waist.

"Ciel," Sebastian mumbled, in a tone suggestive of rampant worry and crumbling self-restraint. However, it seemed even the accidental murmur of the boy's first name did not ensnare his attention. "You don't have to—"

He was cut off by the abrupt, sweetly-inexperienced pressure of Ciel's hot lips as they at last drifted lower, intrepid yet so curious on contact, Sebastian's words tapering off into a breathy but ample groan.

It seemed as though patience was not Ciel's strong point, after all.

* * *

It only took one morning (well, if it was truly morning— Ciel doubted time was of significance here) before Ciel realized that he was definitely going to have to revoke his orders allowing Sebastian to do whatever he wanted. His butler had an apparent selfish streak that he'd been unaware of, and it appeared that Sebastian didn't actually _want_ to do anything besides fornicate with the boy.

Regardless, though it took some time what with the interruptions, eventually Ciel did have a suitable bath and was dressed in his usual attire. Once his boots were buttoned up, he traversed to the window, pressing his hand to the strangely cool surface. He felt Sebastian's presence behind him before he even saw him in the reflection, and when two arms entangled him in a warm embrace, he didn't shrug out of it.

The lustrous glass perfectly mirrored them, in wonderful simplicity, but it was flawed. Everywhere that wasn't illuminated by the light indoors was transparent; the black of their coats, the pupils of their eyes, the darkest of shadows. All of these were clear, and through them, inside of them, the brazen flames of hell burned brightly on the horizon, scorching and scalding the landscape. Ciel had envisioned this sweltering inferno before, as his home and his legacy burned, as all of London burned. And somehow, in Sebastian's arms, he was not scared of fire anymore.

"Sebastian… where do we go now?" Ciel murmured, with a sense of foreboding in his voice. He knew Sebastian looked at the thin layer of glass separating them from the outside world, and saw the exact same thing he did.

Sebastian leaned down to him, softly pecking his head in solemn reassurance.

"We go on."

* * *

**A/N: Did I just inadvertently compare religion to a fetish? Yes, I think I did.**

**I know nobody actually takes the time to read my author's notes, but please read this one.*****

**I really don't want to end this fanfiction, because from this point in the storyline, I could probably add an entirely new plot arc and Eudemon could just keep going. I mean, I could probably write on one of those "third season" premises if I wanted to. But unfortunately, school and guard season will be starting tomorrow, and I won't have the time to keep thinking up ideas and spawning new chapters every week. I wish I could, but I fear that this is coming to an end.**

**The next chapter will be the final chapter, the epilogue. I'm sorry. D:**

**As for the** _Incubus_ **epilogue: It's been giving me lots of trouble x( But I ought to be done with it soon enough... **

**Anyhow, please review! Seriously, I need the boost of confidence. :( And I'm certain that you all want the epilogue! So review and you'll have it! You are all my favorites and I like you very much.~**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Alright, here's the final chapter! First and foremost, I want to thank Thegraybluekitten, emberstar55, isthisparadise, garryxmrchairfan, polka dot, promocat, Adria Zoi Parzifal, Aservis Roturier, Evan Berkoweicz, un ventilateur, and an anon for their reviews; I am so appreciative not only of the praise I will cherish, but also of the criticism I will use in future writing. However, most of all, I am thankful for everyone who followed the story thus far and stuck with me this entire time. It means the world to me... No, fuck that hackneyed shit, it means the entire multiverse to me.**

**Without further ado, I give you the epilogue.**

_Chapter 10 Songs:_

_Love Song- Jack Off Jill (cover)_

_Everlong- Foo Fighters_

_It's Not A Fashion Statement, It's A Deathwish- My Chemical Romance_

_*******(The last song isn't so much a fit for the chapter; to me, it just seemed like the relevant feel-good song they would play in the credits of a really spiffy movie. I hope this fanfiction would qualify as a spiffy movie. xD)_

**Disclaimer: I honestly wish I could do some big reveal at the end of this story and unveil my true identity as Yana Toboso, but unfortunately I can't... How very anticlimactic.**

**Warning: Ain't no vanilla sex for demons.**

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Chapter 10: Epilogue

The first night they lay together, in the garden, was the first and last time that Sebastian told Ciel that he loved him.

Ciel already knew, after all; a demon's love was eternal. Even so, Sebastian still found a far subtler method of conveying his affections, though it wasn't particularly orthodox. Neither of them were really one for turgid, verbose confessions, so Sebastian found a way to symbolize his love with a simpler three-word phrase. A sententious response, one that he always used to answer his master. After all, he had only one response now, for eternity, and Ciel had told him what it was.

Ciel, on the other hand, never once admitted his love for Sebastian. He didn't need to, because it was there.

It was there in the negligible brushing of hands that lingered too long. It was there in both shouted orders and whispered requests. It was there in the strands of silver that hung connected between their lips after divesting a body of its soul. It was there in Ciel's bed, writhing and sweating and intertwining its limbs into his sheets. And it was there afterwards, years after Ciel stopped sleeping, but would shut his eyes anyways, just to be able to unashamedly nestle into the warmth of the demon at his back.

And for Sebastian, this was more than enough.

* * *

Ciel gnashed his teeth as he was hurled against the sheets, his face striking the mattress, before being abruptly reentered. As he gasped and choked for breath, he was already winded from his most recent orgasm as well as the impact, and the hand pressing down on his back to secure him in place hardly helped.

Sebastian moved both hands to grasp Ciel's arms, gripping slightly above each elbow, and used them as leverage, jerking the boy's entire body back to meet his thrusts. Shivering as he was mercilessly, relentlessly pounded into, Ciel couldn't help marveling over how much he'd bruise from being tossed around like this, but it wasn't of much significance; contusions never lasted anymore on his porcelain skin, vanishing in minutes, as if their depletion was no more extraordinary than a smudge of dirt being rubbed from a marble statue. Even so, what truly drove him mad was, despite the smatterings of inky bruises across his skin, it was obvious that Sebastian was still being gentler than he could've been. He had long ago deduced, from the wonderful tingles still shuddering through his body, that Sebastian was more than capable of making him scream or cry whenever he pleased.

Nostrils flaring, Ciel's face was ground into the sheets repetitively as he tried to lift his head, inhaling in sharp bursts so he wouldn't asphyxiate, relishing in the heat that was driving into him. Though Sebastian's hips snapped forwards swiftly, it was becoming clear that he was reaching his end from the occasional erratic twitch, from the loud moans that could only convey deteriorating self-control. As he hammered into his partner, he wrenched back on Ciel's arms exceptionally hard and the boy grit his teeth, smothering the urge to yelp. He was still euphoric, but not enough to diminish the jolt of fresh pain carving its way down his left arm.

His butler's breathing finally hitched, pleasure usurping his composure; the earl emitted a sharp cry as his arms were tugged a final time, arching his spine into a vicious curvature, before being hoven to the bed once again. Pressing deeply as plausible and nearly crushing Ciel, the demon groaned in rapture in a way that seemed to resonate in his chest, reverberating through the body caged under him. Sweat dribbling in rivulets of off his body, Sebastian thrust a few more times into Ciel as he finished, though not in the rigorous, animalistic way from before; this time, he was slow and leisurely as he rocked into him. Ciel, responsively, could not be more satisfied. He was delighted to see Sebastian's sides trembling and heaving from the raw pleasure, to see his all-powerful demon groping and clenching and clutching him to his chest, as if he was the sole necessity to his own survival, and he needed nothing more.

The instant Sebastian disentangled his body from the younger demon's, Ciel flipped over onto his back beneath him, wearing a rather petulant smirk.

"Good boy," he remarked in an insipid tone, as if he had just watched a dog perform a rather vapid trick, before reaching up to pat him on the head, tousling his ebony hair ever so slightly.

Sebastian wore an exasperated expression for a moment, before releasing a defeated sigh and slumping onto Ciel's chest. Looking back onto the night he had taken Ciel's virginity, he never would have predicted both the voracious appetite and unruly behavior in bed that it would evoke in the boy later. Not that he particularly minded.

Ciel's demeanor softened at this, and when the demon lay his damp cheek onto his bare clavicle, the earl couldn't help the swelling he felt in his chest, and affectionately reached down to touch him. However, searing needles of pain pierced his nerves the instant he lifted his arm, and he hissed abruptly. The grimace etched onto his features deepened when he realized that Sebastian, in all his carelessness, had nearly ripped his arm from the socket.

"Was all that really necessary, though," he mumbled, more as a statement than a question, once he had regained his breath; he was equally irritated with the fact that Sebastian was still less out of breath than he was, and Ciel had hardly budged a muscle the entire time. Flinching at the momentary pain, he popped his dislocated shoulder back into place with a nauseating crack.

He wondered if the reason Sebastian took him so ruthlessly derived purely from his own urges, or if it was inadvertent reimbursement of some kind; Ciel found roughness to be preferable anyways, but only to a certain extent. As the circumstances played out, his human body had halted his natural aging in the duration of his late teenage years, the same time he had become more comfortable in his demon form. While he found he could alter his age however he pleased when shifting into his illusory human shape, he consistently occupied his oldest body. A few times, due to Ciel's aesthetic practical adulthood, Sebastian had actually been the one to submit to him, and on his own request, due to how desperately he craved to feel his master's essence within him. However, Ciel was never gentle, simply because he knew he never had to be. Sebastian never limped for long, he figured. Regardless, he wasn't sure if Sebastian did not, even teasingly, plan on returning the favor in full.

All he received in response to his rhetorical question was an ambiguous smile, which didn't really set about reassuring him either.

Tilting his chin up ever so slightly, Ciel stared down contentedly to the demon he was bound to, watching him languidly lick at his sweat-slicked stomach, lapping up any of the milky white evidence of Ciel's orgasm. Angling his head with curiosity, Ciel's face remained placid as his fingers toyed idly with strands of Sebastian's hair, softly knotting themselves into his raven locks. In actuality, Ciel couldn't comprehend how Sebastian never grew tired of it.

"Be careful, Sebastian," Ciel gibed. "I hear gluttony is a sin."

The butler chuckled earnestly. "All of the sins I ruin your body with," he murmured suavely, "and you choose to chide me on gluttony."

With a smooth sweeping motion, Sebastian rolled onto his back and airily lifted the teen with him, maneuvering him onto his side so that he could lean on the elder demon's chest. Ciel's mouth twitched upwards at the corners, and he lifted his head enough to permit Sebastian a quick peck. He stretched like a sulking cat, curling his back and raising his arms, before rolling to face Sebastian and nuzzling coyly into his frame. Once the boy was snug and situated, his arms roped around the back of Sebastian's neck, the butler cleared his throat.

"Oh, I meant to tell you. Uncannily enough, I ran into Grell Sutcliff a couple of days ago when I was running an errand for you. He showed me something interesting in the soul counters about Vivienne Croft. You remember her, don't you, master? She was involved in the first contract we had together."

"Yes, I recall her… Is that _all_ he tried to show you?"

"Naturally not, my lord," Sebastian chuckled. Ciel looked equally amused, but the flippant hint of protectiveness did not go unnoticed when he pressed closer to Sebastian, the grip on the back of his neck tightening.

"Believe it or not, my lord, he was actually more interested in asking me what happened to you," the crow demon informed him, cautiously tracing his hand over the boy's healing shoulder. "You have more friends than you give yourself credit for."

The boy became meditatively still for an instant, all of his lethargic movements ebbing off; he had expected a comment about how much trouble he had stirred up for the reapers, but not that. He reflected on it for an instant before swallowing thickly and shaking his head, dismissing the notion.

"Anyways, what was the news he had about Vivienne?" Ciel asked, changing the subject.

"She's dead," Sebastian announced, before elaborating. "It appears that her illness was progressive with age, and she fell into a consumption a couple of months ago during pregnancy. Both she and the child passed away, unfortunately. As I predicted, she never lived to be as old as her mother. She did succeed in being happily married though, which I suppose should come as some relief."

Distantly, as if recollecting fragments of a dream, and image of the moribund little girl drifted into his mind, plucking her thumb from her mouth and beaming at him. "So she had no heir?" Ciel asked casually, though he was actually startled that so much time had passed. For the first time, he actually pondered eternity in a different light, a lurid one in which he'd heard Sebastian describe it to him before, but which he'd never fully comprehended. Was this is the first inconsequential sampling of it? How many lives would spark and be extinguished in the blink of his eye, how many monuments to the ages would erode beneath his fingertips? How many empires would rise and fall as he meandered through them over the years, an unchanging specter forever to haunt the surface of the earth? How many had Sebastian seen? He told him stories, obviously, but only fragmented wreckages, not the entire image itself, and Ciel found himself feeling devoid.

"No, my lord. It is suspected that her husband inherited the estate." Sebastian seemed to notice a paramount shift in Ciel's aura, despite how miniscule it truly was, and he cupped the earl's cheek in a gesture so gentle that it was nearly an inquiry.

"Does that mean it's as I expected, then?" Ciel suggested. "No heir to carry on her name, all of her belongings and her home gone to waste in the hands of some uncorrelated man… Camilla's sacrifice really was in vain." Admonishing himself for his foolishness, Ciel splayed his own hand over Sebastian's on his face, and let it rest there; he exhaled a sigh when he felt Sebastian's thumb tenderly brush across his cheek. A phantom condemned to scour the earth for all time would undoubtedly travel alone. He would never travel in desolation, and because of the partner he had at his side, he would be anchored in timelessness. Sebastian was the one way that eternity was more than bearable.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Sebastian replied. "The human life is such a transient, trivial thing that it's hard to judge accordingly. Thousands upon thousands of mundane, banal lives, flickering by in moments, seemingly purposeless. When phrased like that, it seems that the only purpose any of them strive for, through whatever means they choose, is a brief happiness; something that distinguishes the value of their time on earth more than any degree of fleeting importance. A happy life is never lived in vain, regardless of how quickly it's over with... All things come to an end, my lord."

Ciel interpreted his words with respect and some degree of poignancy, pressing closer to him. With their bare skin flush against one another's, Ciel could feel the warmth leaching from his body into his own, and hear the comforting, if not mildly illusive, palpitating in his chest, branding him as alive. A beautiful monster's heart that could never truly expire, that he would belong to until the end of time, even if they were both dragged deservedly to the depths of hell. His pulse was a promise, everlasting.

"That's not true," Ciel scoffed with cemented conviction, before searching for some degree of affirmation. "Some things don't end… right, Sebastian?"

The older demon smiled affectionately, using the hand still cradling Ciel's cheek to raise his head, smoothing his fingers down his jawline so that his hand rested beneath Ciel's chin. The boy's expression never wavered as he stared into those indulgent crimson eyes, or even when he felt a pair of alabaster lips hovering tauntingly over his own, whispering, in a breath lighter than the stroke of a feather, a certain three-word phrase across his mouth.

"Yes, my lord."

And for Ciel, this was more than enough.

* * *

**A/N: Alas, it's over... READ THIS LOVELY LETTER I WROTE FOR YOU~ READ IT ALL.**

**I absolutely loved writing this fanfiction, and therefore I hope at least some of you enjoyed reading it! I know many of you don't want it to end, and I share your sentiments, but this story has run its course, and I would detest if it were to lose its luster from being dragged out... Anyhow, I'm sorry if the epilogue is not to your liking, but I found it to be conclusive enough x0 I can't imagine Ciel and Sebastian ever being all sweet and saccharine and fluffy ad nauseum x) Regardless, being able to write this and hear your feedback has been a gift in and of itself.**

**Speaking of, if you've been following the story along but you've never really favorited or reviewed, it would make me ecstatic if you would! Just dropping a little comment or telling someone you like my story would make my entire life, you know, since it's finished anyways. I meant it when I said your words mean the multiverse to me, and I love you all so much!**

**As far as the Incubus epilogue, as well as the other Kuroshitsuji fanfictions I've been working on, I'm dismayed to tell you that they won't be up for some time now. I apologize profusely, but I am simply too bogged down with colorguard and school right now...****Eventually though, I'll finish them. I plan on doing a Ciel x Alois fic as well... and perhaps a minor oneshot or sequel following** _Eudemon Everlasting_**... I'm not sure.**

**I'm also considering writing fanfiction for other fandoms... You know what anime I just finished? Mirai Nikki. Phenomenal fucking show right there. But you know what? I'm literally too fucking content with its ending to ever consider writing it 0.0 It's strange...**

**Anyhow, my other work will be up soon enough, and I genuinely hope** _Eudemon Everlasting _**was to your liking! Please review, and PM me if you have any questions or comments irrelevant to reviewing. ^-^**

**I'll be back soon, so don't you, forget about me~ *Breakfast Club fist in the air***

**This is Stevie, signing off~**


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